Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On
by PianoxForte
Summary: Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Bra Briefs and I've got a problem. What do you do when your one true love thinks he's in love with your own mom and vice-versa? You make a devious and ingenious plot to break them up, of course! GtXBr, GtxB, GxB, VxB
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

A/N: This is my attempt at writing a story about a character I've never even liked. I'm a masochist I guess. The writing style will probably be very different than what you are used to - it's new to me too. As always, I would like some feedback on my work if it isn't too much trouble. Happy reading!

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**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Prologue: The Three Step Plan to Happiness**_

"Hi there! Yeah, I'm talking to you. You know how in your favorite sitcom the main character just magically pauses time and says what's on his mind. Well, that's me, only I'm a girl. Since I'm going to tell you my disastrous life story, I think introductions are in order. My name is Bra Briefs. Don't laugh, my mom has issues with puns. I thought about changing my first name for awhile, that's until I realized that it gives me a perfectly good excuse to deck somebody in the face, ah… good times…"

_9 years ago:_

_Bra watched as an inquisitive little boy from her class nervously approached her. His cheeks were flaming red. He was going to be made fun of for this later. Everyone knew that girls had infectious cooties. _

"_H-i!" he exclaimed with a small little smile. "My name's Kohta. What's yours?" _

_Bra rested a chubby little hand on her chin thoughtfully. She considered making up an alias. Nah… who cares! Aliases are stupid, she decided. "My name's Bra," she replied with a practiced smile. _

_The boy giggled and said, "That's a funny name."_

_Ah… what was it her daddy had taught her to do in a moment like this? Oh yes, she remembered now. Bra's fist came soaring through the air and landed smack-dab on the poor kid's nose. She withdrew her hand with speed and precision, avoiding the spurt of blood that came spraying out like a geyser. His nose was broken. It was Bra's turn to laugh._

"_Not as funny as your nose looks!" she retorted. _

_Big fat tears flowed down the child's face. "I'm gonna tell teacher what you did!" he shouted. _

_Bra sent him a smirk that was akin to her father's. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" she warned in a singsong voice._

"_Why not?" asked the boy. _

"_You'll be the laughing stock of the school," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. She pointed at his crotch. "You wet your pants." _

_~End Flashback~_

"Before I tell you what's about to happen. I think I should inform you a little bit more about myself. I'm a mix of my mother and my father. I'm not a people person. I get that from daddy. I learned at an early age that being fake can get you places. I learned that from good ole mom. My daddy taught me what you can get with brawn. I'm no fighter, but I'm quite a bit stronger than your typical human. I don't like people. I don't… well there are exceptions. I'll let you in on them later, 'kay?" Bra paused to wink with a cute little smile.

"I'm manipulative. I suppose you can say I got that from my mother… only… I'm better at it. My mother is a genius. My brother is an overachiever. I've got the good jeans too. I'm pretty damn smart. This is my secret weapon. Nobody knows about it. I'm pretentious, and I always get what I want. It would do you good to remember the latter part." Bra smirked and added, "You probably won't like me."

So here's the story; it all starts with this:

_12 years ago:_

_Six year old Bra peeked from behind a doorframe and watched her older brother Trunks and Goten talk as they were playing a video game. Between the clicks of the controllers and an occasional shout of "Yeah!" or "Ah man!", the boys were having an extremely important conversation. Said conversation would change the way Trunks thought of his best friend, and it would also change the way Bra thought of her own mother._

"_Trunks, you're mom's really hot!" Goten admitted. _

_Trunks grimaced and replied, "You're sick bro!"_

"_No really, your mom's a babe!" Goten continued, undaunted. _

_Trunks flashed Goten an annoyed look. "Okay, Goten, I get it! I don't care! Just keep it to yourself!" _

_~End Flashback~_

"I'm going to be the first to admit that my mom is hot. I got my looks from her after all. You probably would think that this isn't a problem. You're probably muttering something along the lines of, 'Bra, Goten was a teenage boy and his testosterone levels were exploding. He probably wanted to hump anything that appeared feminine!' You're probably right. Sometimes I swore that he was gonna jump on top of my brother." Bra paused to laugh dryly.

She sighed. "The problem is… this sick crush he has on my mom (note present tense) is still in effect even now. Why is it a problem? You ask. We aren't all gifted geniuses like you, you say. Well, if you haven't already noticed the blatant foreshadowing in my words… I'll say it slowly so that I'm sure you understand me: "I… am… deeply… and… irrevocably… in… love… with… Son… Goten!"

"I've been in love with him for as long as I can remember. You're probably thinking that I'm young and naïve, and that I don't know what true love actually is. You're wrong! I have not felt this way for anyone but Goten. I've loved him through his naïve stage, through his awkward stage, through his cool stage, and now into his adult stage. He has flourished in my eyes like a blooming rose. I would do anything to have him. I would give up my brains and beauty. I would live in poverty. I'm a selfish person, and that's a lot to ask of me! So, now you know that I _really_ love him. The one thing that I can't bear to do… is to let someone else have him!"

Bra crossed her arms in consternation and drummed her fingers impatiently along her sides. "So… I'm going to start letting you in on my plan."

"Step one: Son Goten needs to realize that he's not in love with my mother. He's in love with me! This part shouldn't be too difficult."

Bra smiled at her audience knowingly. "This next part you aren't going to believe, but it's true. In order for you to understand, I'm going to have to give you some background information on my mother. I'll tell you what I already know, and then I'll explain."

Bra sighed before saying, "First of all, you should know that my mother's been leading poor Goten on. You probably don't believe me about that either, but you will soon enough. Now, it's time for me to uncover the second step in my plan: Step two: Bulma Briefs need to understand that she's not in love with Son Goten. She's in love with his father."

"Before I explain my reasoning to you. I'm going to let you in on step three. This is going to be a difficult one, but I'm a creative person. I'm sure I'll think of something. So, here it is: Step three: Make Son Goku betray his beloved wife, and get him to fall head over heels in love with my mom."

"Now, before I start implementing my plans… I think I have a lot more explaining to do…"


	2. Calm and Collected

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT, nor do I own anything by John Steinbeck.

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**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 1: Calm and Collected**_

"_In human affairs of danger and delicacy successful conclusion is sharply limited by hurry. So often men trip by being in a rush. If one were properly to perform a difficult and subtle act, he should first inspect the end to be achieved and then, once he had accepted the end as desirable, he should forget it completely and concentrate solely on the means." – John Steinbeck_

Bra sat by a windowsill rubbing her forehead with her index fingers. She was contemplating something serious. Without warning, she turned and her icy blue eyes pierced into your soul.

"Good. You came back," she said. "I've just been sitting here thinking about how I'm going to implement step one of our plan. You heard me right, you're in on it too whether you like it or not, and you better not tell a soul… not as if you could."

She rested her elbow on her knee and cupped her chin in her hand thoughtfully. "I know that I promised to explain about my mother's relationship with Goten, and also her love for Goku, but I want to tell you something else first. You should know that this isn't the first plan I've tried with getting Goten to love me; the others didn't work. Psh! As if you didn't notice. Though, I have high hopes for this plan. It's a little more up close and personal if you know what I mean. Who am I kidding? You don't know what I mean! I haven't explained it to you yet. Doesn't it suck being in the dark about stuff. That's how it's gonna be for my daddy soon enough."

"Alright, so I've tried other things before in order to get Goten's attention. When I was younger I begged him to play dolls and make-believe with me. Yeah… I know that screwed me big time in the long run. You have to understand that I was young and that's all that I was interested in. My very-feminine mother had a big sway over me back then. So then I had the problem of Goten always seeing me as a child. Well, that's a problem because I'm 18 now. I'm not a child anymore. I haven't been one for awhile. There are kids that like to be babied. There are kids that like to pretend they're grown-ups. Well, I was neither. I knew my own intelligence and I didn't have to pretend that I was older than I actually was. I gauged how much I could get away with. I acted – and still do with my father to some extent – as the child that wants to be babied. I never wanted to be coddled though. I just wanted to get what I want. Remember what I told you. I _always_ get what I want. This will be no different."

A blue strand of hair nestled itself in front of her nose and it bugged her. She attempted to blow it up and away a few time before forcing it back with a hand. She cleared her throat. "Where was I? Oh yeah, I always get what I want."

"Well, I had this 'brilliant' idea a few years back when I was still in junior high and high school. It blew up in my face too. I decided that I would date a ton of guys to show Goten that I wasn't a child. I was also secretly hoping that it would make Goten jealous. I made a point of letting him see it all the time. It didn't work out. You'll see what I mean."

_2 years ago:_

_A handsome young man was sitting down on Bra's bed, drumming his fingers against his legs impatiently. A look of annoyance marred his flawless face. "Come on Bra… this is totally boring! Don't you want to do something a little more… I dunno… fun?" _

_Bra sat on the edge of the bed, keeping a distance of a few feet away from him. Her pink little tongue darted out and licked a finger before using it to flip a page in her magazine. She kicked her legs two and fro and thought, 'As if… If I wanted to have 'fun' it certainly wouldn't be with an arrogant, pretty boy like you. I'd be better off with a life size Ken doll!'_

_Bra was about to murmur something along the lines of, "Just give me a few more minutes…", but she stopped herself just in time. She could sense Goten and her brother approaching the house. She smiled a small little cat smile and replied, "You're right. This is boring! Let's do something fun! Not here though! My Daddy might catch us and he'd go berserk!"_

_She turned around and winked at the boy playfully. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the room. While walking down the hallway, she strutted her stuff playfully, and as if on cue upon approaching the door, the young man slapped her ass. She let out a breathy gasp. She turned to him and ran her fingers down his neck, under his shirt, and lightly scratched her acrylic bright red painted nails along his back. _

_He let out a small moan, and she took advantage of the moment. She attacked his lips with her own. She kissed him all over and sucked on his neck, producing blatant hickeys. She was slipping her tongue into his open mouth and sliding her hand up his pant leg at the precise moment Goten and Trunks walked through the doorway. Bingo! Well played, Bra! _

_She turned around with her face flushed in embarrassment. She feigned a surprised gasp and muttered an, "I'm so sorry," apology with frightened innocent eyes. "Don't tell Daddy! Please!" _

_She watched for a reaction, not from her brother, but from Goten. She wanted to see jealousy. What she saw was shock and then what appeared to be repulsion. _

"_I don't care what you do with your free time Bra," Trunks muttered, walking in the direction of the living room with Goten in tow. _

'_Some protective brother you are!' Bra thought in annoyance. She huffed and then crossed her arms. The boy was looking at her longingly. She'd not even tried and she'd woven a spell over him. 'I don't need you anymore,' Bra thought. She calmly walked to the door, opened it up, and said with a deadpan tone of voice, "Get the hell out."_

_He looked at her in utter surprise. "Are you mad at me? You… you started it!" _

"_No," she corrected him. "You did. Now get the hell out."_

_He left begrudgingly. Bra snuck up to the doorway that led into the living room. She listened to see if they were talking about her. They were:_

"_Hey Trunks, what's wrong with your sister? When did she start dressing and acting like that?" Goten asked. His voice sounded a bit perturbed._

"_Like a tramp you mean," Trunk replied._

"_Well, I wasn't going to say that…" Goten muttered._

"_It's okay, Goten. It won't bug me if you think my sis is whore. I know I do," Trunks said casually._

_Bra was shaken to say in the least. Her brother had just condemned her a whore. Goten thought the same, no doubt. He was just trying to be nice about it. 'Damn it, Trunks!' she thought angrily. _

"_Hey Goten, I'll be right back. I'm gonna go find the phone book and order us some grub," Trunks said, catching Bra by surprise. _

_She quickly masked her ki and hid behind a large house plant. He opened the door and walked out of the room, completely oblivious to her presence. What made Bra's thinking and planning so special were two small characteristics about herself: she was never in a hurry, and she never allowed herself to worry about things. Anything could be fixed. She could solve a problem in a miniscule amount of time with absolutely no anxiety at all. She would simply pinpoint the problem, assess the problem, think of possible fixes, and choose the best fix. She didn't let herself ponder what might happen if her fix didn't work. She thought of the end result that she wanted and how she was going to get it. That was all. _

_So, when Bra was caught by surprise upon hearing Goten's and Trunks' little conversation, you can imagine that unlike most people, she didn't dwell upon the damage she had wrought. Instead, she began to think of ways to fix it quickly and efficiently. _

_Once her brother was out of the way, Bra immediately snapped into action. She pinched her cheeks, and they turned red. She induced herself into tears with the efficiency of a professional actress. She practiced breathing heavily with interrupted chest convulsions for a moment. When she had that down pat, she gave herself the finishing touch by mussing up her hair. _

_She stormed into the living room and curled up on the ground and cried. Her body trembled and it raked with her practiced convulsions. She squealed and sobbed. Her flushed and puffy face was covered with a matted mess of hair._

"_Bra!" Goten shouted with a worry-laden voice. "Are you okay?" _

_He couldn't see her little victory grin from under her hair. He didn't know that she was inwardly patting herself on the back for a job well done._

_She whipped her head up with a look of shock. "G – Goten!" she stuttered. She covered her face up with the palms of her hands. "Don't look at me!" _

_He knelt down beside her and ran his hands compassionately through her hair. He moved it out of her face and tucked it behind her ears. "What's wrong Bra?"_

"_I – I don't want to say it!" she murmured._

"_Please tell me what's wrong, Bra! I'm serious!" Goten replied, this time more firmly. _

"_I don't want to date that boy!" she blurted out._

"_Why not?" he asked._

"_I don't like him! I only d-dated him because the g-girls at school said they wouldn't b-be friends with me unless I got a boyfriend. They said I was a loser! They said I d-dress like a dork too!" _

"_Bra," Goten replied softly, "you shouldn't listen to those girls. They're stuck up. They aren't true friend material. You're a good girl. You're better than them!" _

_Ah… Bra was certainly riding the gravy train now. How easy was this? Now Goten pitied her, and her reputation was repaired all at once! She took advantage of her opportunity. _

"_Oh! You're so nice, Goten!" Bra exclaimed, burying her face into his shoulder._

_He rubbed her back like a dutiful friend. She let her mind wander. She let herself imagine that they were lovers for just a moment. 'In time… it will all be worth it,' she thought to herself._

_Bra sniffled, "You're right, Goten!" Now it was time to make herself appear strong willed. She assumed Goten would like that kind of woman. "It's better to have no friends than to have ones that make me dress badly and date bad boys!"_

"_Don't worry Bra. You'll find some real friends that don't treat you badly. And someday, you'll find that special guy that treats you right!" Goten reassured._

_Bra forced herself to pull back from their embrace. She didn't want to appear too needy, and she could sense Trunks coming. The last thing she needed was him to be on her case. He was smart. If she slipped even the smallest amount, he would notice, he would figure her out, and he would blow her cover. She needed to be prepared for anything._

"_Oh! Trunks is coming back! Oh, oh! I don't want him to worry about this… no, he would probably make fun of me!" Bra placed her small hand on top of Goten's gruff hand. She treasured the moment. "Please, oh please don't tell him about this, Goten!" she pleaded._

_Goten flashed her a smile that made him look almost identical to his father for a split second. She could see now why Bulma could ever convince herself to love such a young boy. "I promise I won't. I've got your back, Bra."_

_Bra could feel a fluttering sensation in the pit of her stomach. Those words sounded like heaven to her ears. She ran her fingers along the top of his hand softly as she let go. He noticed, but shrugged it off as an act of her gratitude. It was and it wasn't, either way, she cherished the moment. _

_~End Flashback~_

Bra sighed exasperatedly. "You see, I screwed up big time. I fixed the mistake, but not entirely. I failed to accomplish the end result that I wanted. I wanted Goten to see me as an adult. This just made me look like a little kid again. I decided to lay low for awhile, let myself mature more – by maturing, I wanted it to come off as my mind and body maturing into a young woman. Though, my mind didn't change at all. I just learned what not to do. I befriended Goten's niece, Pan. I don't especially like her. She's not like me. She's a tomboy, and she's annoying. I put up with her because Goten lives next door and he's really fond of Pan. If I hang out with her, I get to see him. For two years now I've been feigning our friendship. For two years I've been allowing myself to mature in Goten's eyes. He's seen my body become curvy and voluptuous. Where before my chest was flat, and my body was straight as an arrow, now I've got the bangin' hourglass figure and flawless boobs that my mom had at my age… hell… who am I kidding? She still has it even now. Though, that isn't the best change that he's seen. His eyes have deceived his mind into thinking that he's seen me grow up. I'm certain that I'm not a child anymore to him. I'm determined that he sees that. If even the slightest doubt of it is still in existence in his mind, I will smash it and crush it to bits. It's time for me to really execute step one of my plan. Watch out Goten, I'm coming…"


	3. Ménage à Trois

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

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**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

**_Interlude: __Ménage à Trois_**

"You are so impatient!" Bra exclaimed with her arms crossed huffily. "That's a vice ya' know!" Bra rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine… I'll tell you about my Mom and Goten. I'm feeling generous today. I think I'll even tell you about my Mom and Goku."

Bra rested her index finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Hm… the question is: where should I start? The first time I ever noticed something questionable between my Mother and Goten? Yeah, that sounds about right. My memory of the whole thing is kind of fuzzy, but the gist is accurate.

_15 years ago: _

_Thirteen year old Goten had come over to Capsule Corporation to visit his best friend Trunks like any regular day. Trunks had known that he was coming. He had meant to call Goten and cancel their little play date because Trunks was sick with the stomach flu. So when Goten got to Trunks' house, you can imagine that he was disappointed. _

_Bulma had thought of something to make up for it. She told Goten that she was bringing Bra to the county fair and that he was welcome to tag along. Goten was really excited and agreed to come along. _

_~End Narration~_

"So my Mom had been promising to take me to the county fair for weeks. I was really excited. I remember Goten coming along with us. I don't really know why Trunks wasn't with us. Maybe he was sick or something. Now, I know that this doesn't sound odd at all. In fact, it sounds like my Mom's a saint. I'm recounting this memory because it is the first time I can remember my Mom showing interest in Goten, not sexually… well… you'll see. The day was spent like any ordinary day at the fair, excluding one solitary thing. There was something my Mom said to Goten that bears great meaning: She said, and these are her exact words, _'Oh Goten, you look so much like your father, did you know that? We went on a lot of adventures together when he was about your age. Those were some of the best days of my life!'"_

"And that's when Goten said, _'Oh wow cool… hey do you think we could get some ice-cream?'" _

"I can clearly remember my Mother touching his face and laughing. _'Well aren't you just the spitting image. You remind me more and more of him every day.'"_

"Goten gave her a funny look and replied, _'You're talking just like my mom did when Dad was dead and she couldn't see him! Silly, he's not dead anymore.'"_

"The look on her face at that moment has been burned into my memory. Her face went white in stark contrast against her aqua hair and eyes and bright red lipsticked lips. She was shocked. Her features contorted from the shocked expression into a look of clarity." Bra smirked in triumph. "Are you starting to see what I'm getting at now? My dear Mother was having an epiphany."

"I don't expect you to hop on the wagon yet. I know that I haven't provided enough evidence, but keep this thought in mind: My Mother was being reminded of something she'd tried to hide in the closet. She was getting that itch. She could feeling time moving on. I'm sure she was noticing her impending age difference. Maybe she was wondering if she could ever get Goku now… now that she was becoming a middle-aged lady. Maybe she was considering Goku's fidelity. Either way, she raised the white flag and grabbed up what she could. She settled with seconds. The only problem is that her seconds is my first."

Bra drummed her fingers atop a desk and thought in silence for a moment. "You know, I never thought that it would get this far. I knew that Goten had the hots for my Mom, and I knew that my Mom became nostalgic whenever she'd see Goten. Still, the truth completely blindsided me. Before I saw the truth with my own eyes, I had harbored resentment for my Mother because I was jealous. Goten was giving her attention and not me. When I saw the truth for what it was, I felt sick. I couldn't believe that she could use him like that." Bra paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes at her audience. "Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a manipulative bitch too, but this is different! I don't care if you think I'm a hypocrite! My Mother crossed the boundaries. Goten is supposed to be mine! We're meant to be together. I'm not crazy either." Bra place one hand on top of the other over her chest and clenched them together tightly. "I just know we are. I don't know how to explain it, but when I'm around him, I feel like I'm whole. When I'm not around him… it's like torture because I feel empty and I know that my own Mother is with him doing Kami knows what! I don't care if you like me, but you can at least feel a little sympathy for me, right?"

"When I was little, my Mother told me stories a lot. I noticed even at a very young age that the majority of the stories had Goku in them. She almost never told me stories about my Daddy. I wanted to hear stories about my Daddy. All I got was Goku, Goku, Goku." Bra crossed her arms and pouted. "How could I have not seen it coming earlier? How?"

_13 years ago:_

_Bra squirmed underneath the bright pink comforter on her bed. Vegeta had snuck her cookies at dinnertime again. She was Daddy's little girl after all. Bulma peeked in the doorway, smiled, and walked up to her daughter's bedside. Bra bounced up and down on the mattress hyperactively, her cheeks tinted a lustrous rosy red. She looked like a little cherub, so perfect and innocent and pretty. _

"_Please, please, oh please tell me a story before I go to bed Mommy!" she pleaded. _

_Bulma smiled at her warmly. "Oh alright, did I ever tell you about the time that I was chased by a dinosaur?"_

_Bra's eyes widened in disbelief. "N-no! A dinosaur, really?" _

_Bulma poked Bra's tummy playfully. "You betcha! I was chased by a tyrannosaurus! Goku and I had been looking for a dragon ball and we split up our search so we could find it faster. This big green dinosaur popped out of nowhere and roared at me. Its teeth were huge and sharp!"_

"_Oh no!" Bra exclaimed._

"_Oh yes!" Bulma replied with a laugh. "And his breath smelled horrible, like dirty socks, and moldy cheese, and public restrooms all combined!"_

_Bra hopped up and down elatedly. "Ew! Ew! Ew!" she shrieked excitedly. _

"_I ran for it as fast as I could, screaming my head off. The dinosaur was hot on my heels and catching up quickly!" Bulma continued._

"_No! No! No!" Bra shouted._

_Bulma laughed. "Don't worry. Goku found us and attacked the dinosaur. He hit him once and the dinosaur went running the other way!"_

"_Yay!" Bra exclaimed. "Bad Mister Dinosaur!"_

"_Yeah, Goku saved me… all the time…" Bulma muttered, her eyes looked hazy for a moment. "Those were some fun times… I…"_

_Bra examined her Mother curiously. "Something wrong, Mama?"_

_Bulma shook her head. "No, course not! And you know what? Goku and I bumped into that dinosaur again and he ran away again! He wasn't such a scary dinosaur anymore! He learned his lesson to not scare anybody!" _

_Bra smiled and yawned. She murmured, "Yeah he was uh-scared of Uncle Goku." _

"_He sure was. Uncle Goku saved my life! He's a hero!" Bulma replied proudly._

"_Yeah…" Bra replied softly, her eyelids becoming heavy and closing shut over her sleepy eyes. "Next time… can Daddy be the hero?"_

_Bulma must not have expected Bra to open her eyes again, because when Bra did open her eyes to see and hear her answer, Bulma looked shocked. She looked uneasy. Something was off._

"_Uh… Of course sweetie!" she replied with a fake smile._

_~End Flashback~_

"Long story short, Daddy _wasn't_ the hero in the next story. It's kind of weird. I guess Mom forgot. I bet you can guess who the hero _was_ though: Goku, Goku, Goku…"

Bra sat down at her nightstand and gazed into the mirror. She began to apply foundation that she didn't need on her face. She laughed wryly. "I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, aren't I?"

Bra stopped applying her makeup for the moment and gazed into the mirror at her reflection. Her eyebrows suddenly knitted together in frustration and she imagined herself breaking the mirror, shattering it into pieces. That would feel good.

"The first time," she muttered, reaching out and touching her reflection, "the first time I saw them together… It was like getting a sharp blow to the stomach. It was like feeling sharp pain and sickness and retching my innards out. I felt sick, hurt, and betrayed like nothing I could have ever imagined before that moment. I have nightmares about it sometimes. I can't believe that it's true. I can't believe what my eyes so clearly saw. It's like someone I loved dearly passed away, and I know that they're dead, but I can't come to terms with it yet."

Bra closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She banged her fist on the desk and her face collapsed onto it surface, into her hands. She began to sob. She only let herself cry for a moment, and then she lifted up her head, and wiped her eyes and cheeks with the sleeve clothing her arm.

Her face was calm and collected, but it had a trace of menacing hatred that still lingered. "I can forgive Goten. He's confused. That's all. I don't… I don't think I can ever forgive my Mother."

_Six years ago:_

_This was the fateful day, the day that ChiChi had finally had enough. Goten needed to get a job or move out. After all, he was 22 years old now. It was time to stop 'womanizing' as she put it. It was time to get a job, earn money, and start a family. Goten was a lot like his father. He wasn't interested in working. He'd rather train like his father. For a short time, when he was a teenager, he was more interested in girls than anything. He was an adolescent boy after all. That kind of thing was to be expected. ChiChi didn't agree with it though. 'Gohan was never like this! He was like me and your father. He found a good girl and he married her. Why do you have to date all of these tramps?' _

_Goten knew that his mother was raised in a different era than him. She wouldn't understand that he was picky about his girlfriends. She wouldn't understand that he wanted to experience different things. She wouldn't understand that he wanted to live a little before settling down and having a family of his own. He wasn't even sure that he wanted to be a family man. _

_Nevertheless, at the age of 22, he needed to get himself a job. ChiChi didn't care how long it took him to leave the roost. He was her baby after all! She just wanted him to show some responsibility. He was turning out just like Goku for Kami's sake! _

_So Goten begrudgingly complied and went to visit Bulma to ask for a job. He knew it would be a piece of cake. Bulma really seemed to like him. It was a weekend and so she was in the homey section of Capsule Corp. Trunks was about to leave the house as Goten was coming in, he directed Goten to his parents' bedroom. He said he thought Bulma was in there reading or something. _

_Goten headed in the direction of the Brief's bedroom. He didn't see the excited face of a 12 year old girl peeking from behind a corner. He didn't notice a shadow trailing alongside his own. He pulled open the door to Bulma's bedroom and was shocked into a frozen statue of himself. Bulma gasped in surprise. She accidentally dropped the towel that was wrapped around her wet naked body. She had obviously just gotten out of the shower._

"_Goten!" she said, her lips trembling._

_She should have been reaching for the towel to cover herself. She didn't understand why she didn't. She just stood there like a frightened deer caught in a pair of headlights._

"_Bulma…" Goten replied. Something came over him. He walked slowly toward her, apprehensively. She reached down to the floor to finally grab the towel. His hand caught her arm as it was coming back up. She lifted her head to stare at him with curious and confused eyes. Goten seemed to notice what he was doing, and he quickly withdrew his hand. It didn't help. Their bodies were so close together. He could feel her body's heat radiate onto him like a space heater. Trails of the dripping water from her hair distracted him, and as they trailed down her pale, flawless body, his eyes wandered to places that were taboo to him. _

_Before Goten knew it, Bulma's lips were on his, hot and wet and delicious. Her body was crushing itself against his. His hand nervously touched the surface of her bare skin. It was so soft. It was so forbidden. She was ripping at his nice buttoned shirt. Her lips were trailing down his neck. She wasn't stopping. _

_The little girl peeking through the doorway was trembling, losing her battle with the tears that threatened to cascade down her cheeks. She ran down the hallway as fast as her little legs could carry her. She stood for a moment in shock. Her strength was being sapped from an invisible force. Her knees became weak and she slipped to a heap on the floor. Her small body raked with uncontrollable sobs. _

'_Goten!' she thought miserably. 'Goten…'_

_She could hear thumping and creaking in the other room. She could hear their love making. She could hear the whines and the moans, the hard breathing. _

"_Go..." her mother shouted, reaching her climax. "Gok..." There was a large intake of breath and then the name, "Goten!" came spilling out of her mother's mouth._

_~End Flashback~_

Bra finished applying pink lip-gloss on her lips. She sighed. "I changed my mind. I don't want you to pity me. I don't need pity!" Her words rose like a crescendo. "I'm ready to move on now. You can't have him anymore, Mother!"


	4. A Close Call for the Rotten Egg

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 2: A Close Call for the Rotten Egg**_

Bra Briefs casually combed a strand of loose hair behind her ear with her index finger. She checked the navigation device on the dash of her plane. She was flying over the woods of Mount Pao. Any minute now, the Son homes would be in sight.

"You're probably wondering why I don't just fly to the Son house. Well, I don't like flying. It messes up your hair." Bra subconsciously reached up and ran her fingers through her glossy and immaculate hair. "I'm not being a whiny baby. I'm not afraid to get dirty, but _you_ try flying for fifteen minutes and then try and brush all of the knots out of your hair! It's not fun!"

Bra spotted Gohan's house and prepped her aircraft for landing. "You're probably wondering why Goten still lives with his parents. You're probably thinking that he's some loser weirdo, but I assure you that he isn't! Goten moved out once, and he just didn't like living on his own. He likes living near his family, and it would be kind of pointless to get another capsule house when ya' don't really need it! Besides, Gohan's exactly the same way. He lives like 20 feet away from Goku's house. I don't even know why I'm trying to defend him… it doesn't even really matter what _you_ think of him."

Bra began landing the vehicle. "Today is a very exciting day for me. Goku's taking Goten and Pan training in the foothills and Pan invited me to come along. As I've said before, Pan's a total tomboy, and normally when she begs me to go training with her, I abhor it, but this time is going to be different. This time Goten is coming along too! This is going to be perfect!"

Pan's excited face peeked from behind a curtained window. She rushed through the front door of Gohan's house and stood a few feet away from where Bra was landing. She smiled excitedly. There's nothing more exciting to Pan than hanging out with her grandpa. She totally idolizes him. Goten used to be the same way, and slowly, as he grew older, his idolizing nature turned into reverence.

"It's something I've never understood about Goku," Bra muttered silently. "Everyone that meets him falls in love with him almost instantly. Even my Dad likes him now, and he used to hate his guts. Well, once my plan is in place, my Dad might not be so chummy with Goku anymore. He might try to kill him."

Bra stepped out of her aircraft and acknowledged Pan with a slight smile and a casual wave. She inwardly braced herself for the onslaught of Pan's annoying hyperactivity. Though, she took pride in the fact that she was actually pretty good at tuning it out now.

"Goten and Grandpa are gonna be out in just a sec. Grandma's packing us some lunch first," Pan explained.

"Cool," Bra replied, examining the skin underneath her fingernails.

Goku walked outside and smiled and waved at Bra. "Hey Bra! Are you up for training with me and Pan this time, or are you just gonna watch again?"

Bra eyed Goku for a second like a predator would it prey. She noted the familiar goofy smile and the overwhelmingly cheery disposition. _'Hm… how does one go about ruining a happy man's marriage?' _she speculated.

Her deadpan expression was forcibly morphed into a cute little smile, "Hey Uncle Goku!" she replied, running up to him to give him a hug. "I dunno if I want to spar yet, we'll see."

Goku returned the embrace and held her back at arms' length to get a good look at her. "I wish ya' would Bra! You have such potential!"

At this point, Goten came out of the Son family home. He was wearing a fighting gi that was nearly identical to his father's, and he was holding a picnic basket. He walked up beside Pan and ruffled her ebony hair.

"Ready to go, kiddo?" he asked.

Pan smiled adoringly. "You betcha I am! I'm gonna kick your butt Uncle Goten!"

Bra inwardly winced. It was sort of difficult to convince a 28 year old man that you're all grown up when his little niece is your age. _'Stop acting like a child Pan!' _Bra inwardly berated.

Pan was a spoiled child like Bra. She was the babied one. She went through a stage when she was a preteen where she tried desperately to be treated like an adult, but when that failed, she gave up and raked in the rewards of being the baby of the family.

Bra frowned as she realized Goten hadn't even noticed her standing there. She morphed her frown into a half-smile and said, "Hey there, Goten!"

Goten turned around and his grin widened. "Hey Bra, you're here on time for once, eh?"

Bra crossed her arms and pouted playfully. "Of course I am! Just what are you insinuating, Goten?"

Goten winked at her lightheartedly and said, "Oh nothin'. C'mon you guys. Let's get this show on the road already!"

With that said, Goten sprinted off in the direction of a worn dirt trail. Pan excitedly tailed after him shouting, "I'm gonna beat ya' there."

Goku smiled and patted Bra on the back before following after the other two. "Last one there is a rotten egg!" he hollered out.

Bra sighed. _'Damn it!' _she thought, before following suit after the others.

Bra was the rotten egg. Bra didn't mind being the rotten egg. It was kind of like an analogy of her soul. She truly was the most rotten egg of the bunch. She was the one with evil in her heart. She was the one that was willing to hurt others in order to get what she desired. Most of all, she was the one that didn't so much as blink when she did it.

Bra sat down Indian style in the grass. Pan was sparring with Goten at the moment, and Goku was doing stretches. Bra could watch Goten spar all day long. He was really good, not nearly as good as his father, but good nonetheless. She could really care less if he was any good at it though. She just liked to have an excuse to watch him, to be able to observe his every move.

Bra bit her lower lip and began to think gluttonous thoughts. What would she be doing now if she had Goten all to herself? Bra smiled devilishly. She knew full-well what she be doing right now. She hopped up onto her feet and began to stretch her tendons and ligaments. Yes, she'd be joining the sparring session today.

When she was done stretching, she called out, "Hey Goten!"

Goten murmured, "Hmm?" and turned to look at Bra.

"Winner fights me, 'kay?" Bra shouted with a smile.

Goten smiled back at her knowingly. He understood that she wanted to fight him. He wouldn't give Pan the victory this time because he sort of had an itch to fight Bra as well. The last time he'd sparred with her, she was 10 years old and he was 20. This would be a big difference.

'_I don't spend a lot of time training, and I'm not the best fighter and I'm certainly not very experienced, but I've kind of got the nifty little habit of being tricky,' _Bra thought. _'Goten won't forget this spar! I'll make sure of it!' _

* * *

Bra approached Goten with a smirk on her face. She was going to enjoy this! Goten grinned back at her. Bra crouched into a fighting stance and Goten did the same.

Goten smiled more warmly. "Don't worry Bra," he said, winking, "I'll go easy on ya'."

Bra scoffed at him. "Yeah right, Goten. I don't need you to go easy on me! I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much!"

"Alright, Bra, if you say so!" replied Goten.

Bra launched herself into offensive mode, sprinting lightly on her feet toward Goten. She swiftly punched at him like a professional boxer. Goten dodged her attacks easily. He had his energy level matching Bra's, but he was still way more experienced than her.

Bra herself was not so interested in the fight itself. She was more interested in Goten. She tried to make eye contact with him as much as possible. Gazing into his eyes was thrilling and made her stomach feel like it was making back-flips. She found herself actually wanting to land a hit on him. She yearned for any form of contact between the two of them, but so far, not so good.

"Hey Goten, why don't ya' hit me?" she suddenly blurted out. She wasn't quite sure why she'd said it, and the moment the phrase left her lips, she realized how awkward it sounded.

Goten didn't seem to notice. "Why do you want to be beaten up so badly, huh? Are you a masochist or something?"

Bra smiled at him derisively, "No I'm not! What's wrong, Goten? Afraid to hit a woman?"

Goten froze for a minute. He was about to fervently deny her accusations, but he was caught off guard by a fist to his face. He'd let his guard down for an instant and now he was eating a face-full of Bra's knuckles. Bra giggled. The look on Goten's face an instant before she made contact with him was priceless! She didn't stop with that punch. She took advantage of the moment and floored him, and before he had a chance to regain his senses, she threw a ki blast at him that sent him careening through the air and into the woods and out of sight.

She gasped as she suddenly realized something very important. _'He's alone! I can be alone with Goten!' _She flew after him and landed a few feet away from the crater that had formed beneath his body. She could hear a slight groan. Goten levitated out of the crater. His lip was cracked and a trickle blood was running down his chin. He wiped it away with the back of his hand, but it only bled more. His lips morphed into a smile of pleasure. There was nothing better than an interesting fight.

Bra smiled at him coyly. _'My Mother could never give you that, Goten,' _she thought. "C'mon Goten, hit me with your best shot! I know you want to!"

Goten fruitlessly attempted to wipe the trail of blood away again. He shrugged his shoulders and launched himself at Bra. This time he was on the offensive. Bra struggled to keep up with him. She painstakingly pushed her body to its limits in order to dodge the flurry of fists and elbows and knees and legs that came flying at her.

It was extremely difficult to keep up with Goten. Amidst Bra's confusion, Goten produced a small Kamehameha wave and threw it at her point-blank. Bra gasped and shielded her face and upper torso with crossed forearms. It hit her head-on and knocked the breath out of her lungs. She struggled to hold her ground. Her heels dug into the dirt. Slowly she began to be pushed backward from the incredible force. Her legs gave way and she fell to her knees. She blast sent her skidding across the dirt, crashing through trees. Her shins and knees scraped up against the gravel, and each time her backside hit a new tree, she could have sworn that would be the impact that would paralyze her forever.

Finally, after what felt like forever, the blast dissipated, and left a battered up Bra in its wake. Her clothing was torn to shreds and her legs were battered and bloody. What had been sweatpants now looked more akin to long shorts stained with grass, dirt, and blood. The hair on her forearms was singed away, and the skin that was usually baby-soft was now bright red and raw.

Bra sighed and blew her disheveled hair out of her face. _'This is exactly why I don't like to train!' _she thought. She wasn't worried about the dirtiness of it all or even the potential scarring. She was half-Saiyan and Saiyans healed up quickly and nicely. She just didn't like to put herself through unnecessary labor and pain.

When her thoughts finally resurfaced back on Earth, she realized that Goten had been staring at her. She was taken aback to say in the least. He'd definitely caught her off guard. He looked worried. He realized that he'd gone too far with her. He'd gotten overly-excited and he forgot to hold back for a split second. He inched closer to her like a scared animal. Bra watched with slight intrigue.

She drowned out the sudden urge to smile and laugh. _'Poor Goten,' _she thought. _'He thinks that he broke me!' _

She was about to shrug off her injuries in a nonchalant manner, but she was frozen in her tracks by what happened next. Goten reached out a hand and timidly touched her face. She was acutely aware of his gruff fingers brushing against her cheek like feathers. Her eyes widened in alarm. She had not been trying for anything like this yet. She just wanted to show Goten she was tough, and she also wanted to be close to him. She had no clue that she could already gain his affection so easily, even if it was because he'd harmed her.

"I'm so sorry Bra! I shouldn't have hurt you like that!" Goten suddenly exclaimed.

Bra's breath was caught in her throat. She couldn't speak. She felt a dull aching in her lungs. She couldn't even blink. Her eyes began to sting and water. Goten was touching her of his own will! She felt like this was the closest she had ever been to him in her entire life. Her mind kept telling her to breathe. Breathe Bra! Breathe! – it said. She didn't listen. She stared so hard at him that the image began to blur. Breathe damn you! You'll asphyxiate and then you'll faint! Then where will you be? You'll be at home in bed with no Goten in sight! Bra suddenly gasped for air.

Goten's other hand came up to her face, and he cradled her chin in both his hands. "Please forgive me, Bra!"

Bra subconsciously smacked herself in the face. _'Concentrate you numbskull!' _she thought. Bra smiled weakly. "Don't worry, Goten. I'll be fine. You have nothing to worry about! You're not at fault at all! I was asking for it, remember? I'm not a child anymore, Goten. I can handle myself."

Goten's eyes glinted in recognition, as if a light bulb had suddenly illuminated over his head. "You're… different…" he muttered in astonishment.

Bra contained the sudden urge to squeal delightedly. "What do you mean, Goten? What did I do wrong?" she asked, playing dumb.

Goten shook his head passionately. "No… no! Not different in a bad way… in a good way…"

Bra's heart palpitated in her chest. She silently wondered if he could hear the drumming that was resonating in her own ears. She was shocked still. She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks with her. It suddenly seemed as if the space between Goten's face and her own was closing up. She could swear that their lips were not even a centimeter apart. She could feel a dull ache in her chest again. She was forgetting something. What was she forgetting? Oh it didn't matter! She could feel his warm, moist bated breath on her lips. That was what mattered! She began to feel dizzy and lightheaded. Suddenly, she remembered what she'd forgotten. Her subconscious practically screamed at her to remember to breathe, but it was too late, the lights had already gone out.


	5. Embezzlement

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 3: Embezzlement**_

Bra lay atop her bed sleeping soundly. Her chest moved up and down rhythmically. Her face was as serene as an angel's. Her rose-petal lips were slightly agape, and breath came out in little wisps. Beneath the satin sheets, her bandaged arms and legs were not visible. She was unharmed and at peace.

Repetitive thumping sounds nearby disturbed her tranquil slumber. Her eyebrows and nose twitched slightly at first. An arm moved from beneath the sheets. A groan escaped her supple lips. Her eyelids drowsily fluttered open. She leisurely pushed herself up into a sitting position and vaguely wondered why her arms were sore and itchy.

She raised a hand up to her mouth and yawned as she glanced about the room in disorientation. "I'm in my room…" she muttered. She was confused for moment. Why was she in her room? What had she been doing before she blacked out like this? She touched her forehead with the tips of her fingers and frowned.

"It was important…" she murmured. Suddenly, she gasped and her sleepy eyes regained their usual vitality. "No…" she whispered hoarsely, "No!"

She slammed her fist down on the mattress, ignoring the rush of renewed pain that quickly ensued. "Damn it!"

Her hands reached for her turquoise hair and clenched it in her fists angrily. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" she hissed. "I was so fucking close! I just… I know it!"

"You think this is funny don't you!" Bra snapped. "It isn't! I know Goten was going to kiss me! He was!"

Bra crossed her arms stubbornly. "I wasn't just seeing things! He was going to!" Bra frowned, losing some of her determination, "I think…"

She tapped her fingers on the mattress, matching the beat of the thumping noise in the background. "C'mon, Bra," she muttered beneath her breath. "Think rationally. I _might _have been seeing things. I was about to faint after all. It would have been too easy for him to just fall for me like that… right? I mean, I've tried so damn hard all of these years with no luck! He wouldn't just up and have feelings for me that suddenly… right?"

Bra sat in silence for a moment. There was a thumping and creaking sound in the background. It was kind of soothing like a metronome. It was soothing, that is, until Bra began to wonder where it was coming from. She silently stalked out of her room and padded down the hallway on bare feet. She was following the sound. It was getting louder and louder. She was getting warm, warmer, hot, hotter, burning hot! She stopped outside of her mother's bedroom door.

She frowned and rolled her eyes sarcastically. _'Geeze Mom and Dad… I guess it doesn't always help when you get a room…' _

She was about to walk away like she hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. She was about to go downstairs, away from earshot of the noise, but she suddenly felt as if she couldn't move. Something was off. Hadn't her dad told her something the other day?

_~Flashback~_

_Vegeta hugged Bra awkwardly, and pulled away. He crossed his arms almost immediately. Bra quirked an eyebrow at him quizzically. "What was that for Daddy?" _

"_I'm going away for a few weeks. I'm saying goodbye," he replied._

_Bra smiled. She knew that her dad wasn't even going to hug her mom goodbye. 'But I'm his little princess…' she thought with a smirk. _

"_Okay, where are you going?" she asked. _

"_Training, in space," he replied._

_Bra frowned playfully. "You aren't going to be gone for a couple years like the last time, right?"_

_Vegeta looked taken aback. "Uh – Of course not!" he stuttered._

_Bra smiled her little cat smile. 'He would never leave me behind,' she thought. "Oh, alright Daddy. Have fun!" she exclaimed, trapping him in another hug and pecking him on the cheek. _

_~End Flashback~_

Bra stood frozen at the door, much like she had six years prior. Only, this time the door was closed. She couldn't actually see what was going on in there, but she could feel it now. The moment she felt doubt creep in, she began relying on her ki senses. She could feel the two ki signatures in the room. There was a pitifully weak one – her mother's. Then, there was a strong ki, very strong – it was none other than Goten's.

She raised the palm of her hand halfway up to cover her mouth in utter shock. Her lips trembled uncontrollably as she silently mouthed the word, "No."

She backed away from the door, shaking her head; her eyes were so wide open they were nearly popping out of their orbits. She frantically backed away from the room as quickly as possible, tripping over her own feet. She couldn't stand to feel this feeling any longer. It was insufferable!

She ran into the nearest room and slammed the door shut behind her. She was in a bathroom. She could still hear them clear as day. She frantically grabbed for a towel and began to stuff it under the doorway. No luck! The repulsive noise still perforated the layers of the door and walls and drove her crazy.

Bra turned the sink faucet on to drown out the sound, and she climbed into the bathtub and curled up into a ball. She hid her face in her hands. The water gushing from the faucet failed to drown out the sound of their love making and it couldn't hide Bra's soft muffled sobs.

Bra didn't keep track of how much time elapsed while she was lying in the bathtub mourning her defeat. She didn't care how much time had passed. She felt miserable, as if her heart had just been ripped out. She took her time lifting herself out of her melancholy trance. She sat up in the bathtub and ran her fingers through her hair.

'_Calm yourself...' _she thought. She took in a deep rejuvenating breath and then calmly exhaled.

"Goten may have picked my Mother over me," she whispered, "but…" Bra sighed and collected herself again. "But _maybe _there's an explanation for it. Think about it. What if he was really about to kiss me? That was only a few hours ago tops. Maybe… maybe he was turned on by me and needed to… relieve himself."

Bra smiled slyly. "Yeah, the thought of being intimate with me drove him to my Mother. I like the ring of that much better!"

Bra crossed her arms and glared at her audience resentfully. "Seriously, it could happen! I know you probably think it's a load of bull and that I'm in denial, but the bottom line is: you never know what a guy will do when he's horny."

Bra sighed. "If I'm wrong, he might actually think he loves my Mother. That will make my job more difficult. If I'm right, well, I'm already halfway there."

Bra climbed out of the bathtub and approached the closed door. "If I'm right, you're probably thinking that Goten is a totally selfish jackass." Bra grinned. "If that's true, then I don't mind, we're meant for each other. It turns out… I'm a totally selfish bitch."

As Bra was walking down the hallway, she heard a knock coming from the front door. She climbed down a flight of stairs and there was a second impatient knock.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" she hollered out.

Bra couldn't deny that she still felt a little under the weather. She had been ignoring the pain before because she had more important things to occupy space in her mind. She rolled the sleeves on her gown and winced at the sight of how gnarled the flesh on her arm looked. She was startled by the chime of a grandfather clock in the room. It chimed 8 times.

Bra vaguely thought, _'Hm… 8:00 PM already? I was conked out for awhile.'_

She reached out for the door handle just as a second knock thumped against the door. She opened the door quickly with a slight frown on her face. When she realized who was standing on the other end, the frown dissipated within a millisecond.

"G – Goten!" she stammered. "What are you doing here?" _'Coming back for seconds already, huh? Why use the friggin' door if you're supposed to be being inconspicuous?'_

Goten smiled at Bra kindly. "I came to check on you."

Bra's mouth hung slightly agape. "Huh? Why?"

Goten scratched the back of his head and broadened his smile. "I kind of beat you up earlier today, remember?" he said, laughing nervously.

Bra smiled and raised an arm to brush some hair out of her face. She was doing it out of habit, but she couldn't ignore the effect it immediately had on Goten. He was staring at the burns and bruises and little cracked raw sores on her arms. She could visibly see him gulp.

Bra felt like shrugging off the injuries. She didn't want him to feel like she hated him because of them or something. The last thing she wanted to do was chase him off. It was at this moment that Bra noticed Goten had been holding his arms behind his back. She glanced curiously to the side, but she couldn't see anything.

Goten realized what she was trying to do and began to laugh nervously again. "I – uh – got something for you. You're going to probably think that it's lame, but…"

Goten pulled out a bouquet of fresh cut flowers from behind his back. "… but I felt so bad about what I did, and they reminded me of you."

Bra felt her heart ache and her legs suddenly felt like jello. How many times had she dreamed of Goten bringing her flowers? Like a million, no, a billion, no, a trillion times infinity!

"Thank you, Goten," she replied, taking the flowers and smelling them with a little happy smile on her face. "I love them. I'm going to go get a vase. You can come in and sit down wherever you want."

As she jogged off excitedly to go find a vase she could dimly register Goten muttering something along the lines of, "My Mother's going to kill me for that."

When Bra returned, she found Goten sitting on the living room couch and she joined him. She was so overjoyed that she was just sitting here alone with him that the smile on her face was threatening to become permanent. Who cares if he slept with her Mom only a matter of a couple of hours ago?

Bra and Goten chatted small talk for awhile. She couldn't ignore the fact that Goten would not stop fidgeting in his seat. She tried to ignore it, but it didn't stop. She could not ignore his sideway glances at her arms and legs. She realized that he felt bad about injuring her, but now he was just making her self-conscious.

Finally, Bra couldn't handle it any longer. She loved attention from Goten and all, but this was the wrong kind of attention. She felt the need to comfort him and reiterate to him that she was in fact, alright. She deliberately reached out and grabbed Goten's hand. She could feel him flinch away at her touch. Her heart immediately began to sink. _'It's like he thinks I'm a monster or something…' _she thought morosely.

Without warning, Goten suddenly looked directly into her eyes. She couldn't tell what it was he was feeling, but he looked almost as if he was frightened, anxious, and sad all at once. She didn't want to ever inflict that sort of feeling upon him. She never wanted to make him feel like that. She loved him!

"I'm sorry…" she muttered, her face becoming downcast. She weakly attempted to pull her hand back. She didn't want too, and she was surprised and thoroughly happy that Goten held onto her hand when she tried to pull away.

"No!" he exclaimed. "Don't apologize! I… I don't like… I don't like seeing you like this! I can't take it any longer!"

She felt him upturn the palm of her hand and gently place something small within it. She glanced curiously at the foreign object. It was a small, pale green bean. _'A sensu bean?' _she thought.

"Please take it!" he pleaded, clasping her fingers over it. "I know I'm not supposed to give it to you. It's our family's spare in case of an emergency, but I don't care if you tell my Dad. Just… please take it…"

"G – Goten?" she stuttered in utter shock. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. She suddenly felt like a frightened animal caught in front of monstrous headlights. She didn't understand why he was doing this. What should she say? She might say something stupid if she opened her mouth again.

She didn't have to worry about it much longer, because Goten disappeared from the room without even so much as saying goodbye. He was much quicker than she was. As she was parting her lips to respond, she noticed that his hand was no longer warmly overshadowing hers. She realized that she was staring at a rapidly fading afterimage.


	6. Meet Me Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 4: Meet Me Underneath the Cherry Blossom Tree**_

"_You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on." – Jane Austen_

At the moment, Bra Briefs found herself sitting on a serene white-sanded beach, and to her astonishment, she kind of felt at peace with herself – if only for a moment. Much like her Father, she was far away from home, far away from all of civilization, or at least what she deemed as civilization. She was sun-bathing on the beach of a small island 500 miles off the coast of the mainland. It was best known as Pelican Isle. The population was comprised of only 500 residents.

She was familiar with this place. The Briefs and Son family had spent many beach vacations here in the past. She would sit in the sand – much like she was doing now – burrowing her toes deep into its otherworldly warmth. That warm tingly feeling of nostalgia was starting to wear away now. Her heart sank deeper and deeper. It was hot and humid out, and yet, she felt cold… so cold and distant. She used to watch Goten and Trunks playing together on this strip of land. She would giggle as she watched them bury Vegeta in the sand. Life was so great back then, back before she had the worries of real life.

"Remember what I told you before?" she asked, absentmindedly drawing patterns in the sand. "I told you that you probably wouldn't like me. I suppose it doesn't really matter, since you're only a figment of my imagination, but I feel like I should tell you what I did. I did something really bad. When I do tell you, you probably will _hate_ me."

"You won't understand my reasoning at all. Nobody understands me. I don't understand myself and my own thought process half of the time. Before I tell you what I did. I'm going to first say that I'm not giving up. I am still as determined as ever to have Goten for myself. I still love him with all of my heart. I will never give up so long as I have breath in my lungs and a beating heart in my chest!"

"I regret to admit defeat as of right now. I lament in having to inform you that Goten loves my Mother. Just when I thought he was mine, he chose her. As of right now, I have successfully implemented both steps two and three of my plan. You heard me right. I am positive that my Mother loves Son Goku. I know now that she realizes it as well. I also succeeded in making Goku betray his fidelity. It was incredibly difficult to achieve that, and despite the state that I'm in now, I am still proud of this accomplishment. I have to admit… I thought that it would be nearly impossible to get him to cheat. Don't get me wrong, I'm certain that he loves my Mom now, but I didn't think that it would be enough. No, I'm positive that it wouldn't be enough, because, you see, he's desperately in love with ChiChi as well, and… why give up a good thing. No, I had to get crafty with this one. I learned something really interesting in the process as well. Turns out… I didn't succeed in breaking an honest man. He wasn't honest to begin with."

"It was shocking to say in the least. It's hard to explain the feeling I got when I found out that Son Goku has slept with my Mother before. It's kind of akin to the feeling every child gets when they finally realize that even their own parents aren't good. I remember that feeling… the feeling when I realized that my parents aren't deities. They're human too – Ha! Technically not my Dad, but you know what I mean. They lie just like any other person. It's a cold and alienating feeling."

Bra sighed and relinquished the frown on her face. She smiled weakly and laughed. "As usual, I have _a lot_ of explaining to do."

"My first mistake was becoming overconfident. About a month and a half ago, Goten gave me a bouquet of flowers and a sensu bean to heal my injuries, as I'm sure you already know. Well, I thought about it, and it gave me hope. I genuinely convinced myself that he was falling for me. He'd shown genuine compassion and thoughtfulness. I started to recklessly alter my plans. I realized that if Goten really did love me… it wouldn't matter whether I hooked up my Mom with Goku or not. I was only going to do that so that she would leave Goten be. I don't care if my Mom is miserable and alone. I just want Goten. I decided to just stick with step one. If I could achieve step one without the aid of getting rid of the Mom problem, well, then good for me!"

Bra patted the surface of the sand until it was flat. She smoothed it out with her hands. "I'm not going to waste your time and tell you all of the boring details. Let's just say, that last month I visited Pan nearly every day. Goten was noticeably showing me more attention than usual. More often than not, he would come over to Gohan's house whenever I visited. He would talk to me in his charming way. I would feel like throwing him on the floor and ripping his clothes off. You know… normal stuff."

Bra smiled and raked her fingers over the flat surface of sand. "I became more sure of myself. I could swear that Goten was flirting with me from time to time. I didn't make my stupid decision as of yet. I did that at the last moment. A few weeks ago, I made my first bold move. I deliberately went to Pan's house to hang out with her when I knew she wasn't there. I acted as if I hadn't known, but in all essence, there was no possible way I could have made that mistake. I can sense ki just like all of the Sons. Remember what I told you before? I said that I'm smart like my Mother and Brother. I told you that my intelligence is my secret weapon because nobody expects it of me. Well, this is the perfect demonstration of such an instance: Goten readily believed that I thought Pan was home and that I only accidently came to visit while she was away. In all essence, I should be insulted by what people assume of me, but it really doesn't bother me. I was glad that I had this to my advantage. I got to spend the whole day with Goten!"

"Just as I was leaving… I made yet an even bolder move… and unfortunately, it wasn't my last."

_Approximately Three Weeks Ago:_

_Bra casually walked toward the foyer of the Son's residence as she said, "It's getting late Goten, I should be headed home now."_

_She literally had to force herself to say it. She didn't want to go home yet. As far as she was concerned, if at all possible, she would never return home. Today had been spent blissfully – only her and Goten enjoying each other's company. _

_Bra was delighted by Goten's reaction. He frowned in obvious disappointment. "Aw… C'mon Bra, already? Can't you at least stay for dinner?"_

"_Believe me, Goten, I would love to stay and hang out with you some more, but I don't want to be any trouble for your Mother. She's only cooking for three. I would just be getting in the way!" Bra replied, silently thinking, 'Plus, I don't want her to freak out and start accusing me of being some evil succubus or something.' _

_Goten pressed onward. "It would be no problem at all, Bra!" _

"_Thanks so much, Goten, but I really don't want to overstay my welcome," Bra replied, asserting herself by reaching for the front door handle and turning it in the palm of her hand. _

_Goten pouted playfully. "Oh, alright," he relented. "I really had a lot of fun today, Bra."_

_That was her cue to make her move. "I'm surprised. I really enjoyed myself too! Hey… Goten... Do you think that… I dunno, maybe you'd want to go grab a cheeseburger with me sometime?"_

_The split second of waiting it took for her to hear his answer was like torture._

_Goten smiled and replied, "Of course, Bra. You know cheeseburgers are my favorite!"_

_~End Flashback~_

Bra fell flat on the surface of the warm sand. She didn't care if it got in her clothing or in her hair. It was soft, warm, and soothing. She sighed with a smile on her face.

"I've mention before that I'd be willing to do anything in order to have Goten. I wasn't being overdramatic, and I wasn't making a promise that I can't keep. Goten is my meaning in life. I would do anything for him. Did I mention that I've been a vegetarian since I was twelve years old? I don't avoid meat because I feel bad for the animal or anything. I just can't stand the idea of eating the muscular tissue of something that was living at some point. It makes me sick to my stomach. It's a psychosomatic sort of deal. Goten was right, I knew very well that he loves cheeseburgers. He wouldn't turn down the chance to munch on one. He's like his Dad, he thinks with his stomach and not his mind a lot of the time."

"Our little 'date' was added to my mental list of the best days of my life. I forced down a disgusting hunk of meat, but it was well worth spending the time with Goten. It was worth seeing him smile. It was worth hearing his ridiculous and sometimes stupid jokes. It was worth sharing the same strawberry milkshake and dipping our french fries in it. As if to seal the perfect day, Goten invited me to go camping with him and his family on the weekend. Of course I agreed. I wish I'd never agreed to it. That day I went camping with the Sons will forever be etched into my mind as the worst day of my life. That is the day that I lost Goten to my Mother, and she didn't even have to so much as lift her pretty little finger!"

"I couldn't stand what happened that night. I flew out here to calm myself. I don't want to see my Mother's face. I might sucker-punch her if I do… and once I've lost it, there's no saying what I'd do next. I feel guilty. I'm a jerk, and I realize that, but the things my Mom has done are unforgivable. Most of all, I can't stand to think that I lost to _her. _I have so many great attributes on my side: intelligence, youthfulness, natural beauty, strength. Some people would really kill to be me, but right now, I would kill to be her…"

_Two Weeks Ago:_

_The Son family, Bra, Krillin, 18, and Marron were all attending the camping trip. Bra marveled at how much fun everyone else seemed to be having. She never could understand people. She was disinterested most things that the average person was crazy about. The distinct characteristic about Bra that set her apart from the rest was how passionate she was about the few things she did love. _

_It had been a long day of fun activities: fishing, sparring, more sparring, hiking, climbing trees, exploring caves, swimming… a lot of activities Bra couldn't care less about. Nevertheless, she was content because Goten was participating in all of them. So Bra went fishing with Goku, Goten, Krillin, and Pan. She sparred a little bit. She went on the family hiking trip and she climbed tall trees with the efficiency of a true tomboy. She didn't scream when she walked into a gigantic spider web in one of the caverns. Though, out of all of the activities that she'd taken part in, her favorite was swimming. Seeing Goten with no shirt on was definitely the most fun she'd had all day. _

_So here she was, sitting on a quilt blanket in a grassy clearing. ChiChi and Videl were busy cooking something that smelled smokey and tangy. It smelled delicious. Pan nudged Bra and broke her out of her reverie. _

_Bra glanced at Pan. "Yeah?" _

"_Grandma said we should get washed up before dinner," Pan replied, pulling on her arm for her to follow the leader._

_Bra rolled her eyes. ChiChi was always so proper and lady like. She honestly couldn't understand how Goku stood up with her. She seemed really boring and mundane to Bra. 'She must be awesome in bed or something…' Bra thought randomly._

_She got up to follow Pan. Goten got up to follow them, unaware of what they were about to do. _

"_Hey! Where are you guys going?" he asked._

_Pan turned around for an instant and stuck her tongue out at him. "We're bathing! Don't follow us you perve!" _

_Bra laughed at the funny look on Goten's face. Pan continued to walk ahead, ignoring Goten's shout of, "I'm your Uncle you little sicko!"_

_Goten's eyes were now centered on her. She felt a shiver run up her spine. She involuntarily fumbled around with a folded piece of paper in her pocket. She had been waiting for the perfect time to give it to him all day long. Now was the perfect time, but she suddenly felt embarrassed. She abruptly realized that what she was about to do was completely rudimentary and if she went through with it Goten might think her a child._

_Goten noticed something was off. He furrowed his eyebrows together in concern. "Is something the matter, Bra?"_

_Bra was startled out of her silence. "N – no!" she blurted out. It was now or never! She didn't even realize what she was doing until the deed was finished and irrevocable. The folded up piece of paper was out of her pocket and visible in her hand. It was extended outward toward Goten._

_Goten eyed the folded up paper curiously and reached out for it. Bra would have withdrawn it if she wasn't frozen still by her horror-stricken shock. 'No! What have I done?' her mind shouted at itself._

_Goten's fingers clasped shut on the note. He pulled it from Bra's hands. He had to tug it twice because she would not and could not relinquish her grasp on it. _

"_Don't read it until after dinner!" she pleaded and bounded off after Pan without a second glance._

_Unbeknownst to her, Goten didn't wait until after dinner to read its contents, but then again, who in their right mind would? In an imperfect world such as this, secrets are meant to broken, and mysteries are meant to be solved no-matter the consequence._

_He unfolded the piece of paper carefully and flattened out each crease. It was a letter. It read:_

_Dear Goten,_

_I don't exactly know how to say this. It's a secret I've kept nearly my entire life. I have absolutely no clue how you will react to what I have to say. I think, I hope, you feel the same way as I do, but if you don't, know that my feelings will always be the same. I've admired you longer than I can remember. I've loved you before I even knew what the feeling really was. Words cannot describe how much I ardently admire and love you. If you feel for me as I feel for you, or if you even relatively like me and feel that with time you can feel the same way as I do, meet me underneath the sole cherry blossom tree at 7:00 PM. I will be waiting for you._

_Love,_

_Bra Briefs_


	7. Desperation

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 5: Desperation**_

Bra twiddled her thumbs together aimlessly. She frowned and opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, but it closed up again. She sat still for a few more minutes, and then she finally decided it was time to relinquish her silence.

"You might want to brace yourself for what I'm about to say. It's pretty damn shocking, coming from even the likes of me. Maybe, just maybe, if you try to feel the way I feel, if you try to see things through my eyes, then you might begin to have an inkling of understanding. Though, I don't expect you to understand. Nobody knows how I feel."

Bra inhaled deeply and exhaled a trembling breath. She rubbed her forearms with her hands, trying fruitlessly to calm her nerves. "You have absolutely no clue how hard this is for me to repeat…"

_Two Weeks Ago:_

_It was a quarter 'til 7:00 PM. Bra was sitting with her back situated up against the cherry blossom tree. It was blooming out of season. She thought that it would be perfect for the situation. The sun was setting, and its golden hues were lighting up the pink flower petals on the tree. It had a sort of ethereal beauty to it that was unforgettable. _

_Bra glanced at her cell phone nervously. It was only 6:40 right now, no need to be antsy. Bra tried her best to think reassuring thoughts. 'Stop worrying, Bra. He's going to come. It's still early, and it'll be okay if he's a little late anyway… as long as he comes… he will come!' _

_~End Flashback~_

Bra threw up her arms in distress and shouted, "I'm so dense! I don't know why I thought he would actually come! I didn't even realize that it had been a stupid idea until it was 15 past 7:00. I just sat there like a loser. I checked the time every minute. By 10 'til, my palms had become clammy with anticipation and I felt queasy. I kept wiping my palms on my skirt. I didn't want them to be sweaty when Goten wanted to touch them… to hold them. Each second of every minute was agonizingly slow. When it finally hit 7:00, my eyes were glued to the horizon. I was almost able to imagine Goten flying toward me with the setting sun as his backdrop. He would be waving at me with both arms. There would be a bright Son family smile on his face. If only it wasn't just my imagination."

_Two Weeks Ago:_

_Bra checked her cell phone again. The time was displayed as 7:01 PM. The first of many to come tears made its lonesome journey down her cheek. It dripped off of her chin and splattered on the bright LCD screen in her hands. She wiped it away with her fist. 'No… no… he might be late. If he comes and sees me crying he's going to think I'm immature!' _

_Bra sat perfectly still, forcibly willing her tear glands to stop producing the damned salty liquid. Her thumb pressed a button on her cell phone again. The screen lit up. It read 7:02. She glared at the screen. She didn't blink, though her eyes were burning. The screen dimmed and went black. Her thumb pressed a button again to light it up. It still read 7:02. Her hands began to shake. She lost her struggle against the tears when the time changed to 7:03. _

_It continued on like this. She would press a button. The screen would light up. She would watch the time. She would curse when the time changed. The screen would dim and go black. Her thumb would press a button… etc. _

_When the time hit 7:15, she screamed and tossed her cell phone out of sight. He wasn't coming. She knew it. There was no point in wasting her time sitting there and staring at the clock. She thought of returning to the campsite, but she changed her mind. She dreaded going back. Goten would be there, and she couldn't bear to let him see her like this. She would be embarrassed to death!_

_Bra got up and began to pace around the trunk of the cherry blossom tree. What should she do? She had no idea. Then, suddenly, she thought of something. If Goten didn't choose her… then… who did he choose? The answer was simple enough. She knew it, but it led to her to another question. Where was Goten? Wouldn't he at least have enough respect to come to her and tell her that he didn't feel that way about her? _

_Bra concentrated on Goten's ki signature and when she located his whereabouts, her heart skipped a beat. She gasped. The tears were almost automatic. She didn't know how to react. This was worse than him feeling nothing for her! This was way worse than him simply not showing up because he didn't care. She could distinctly feel his ki signature at Capsule Corporation. She could feel her Mother's ki signature so close to his own, that they were possibly overlapping one another. _

_Bra slid to her knees and buried her face in her hands. She curled up on the grass and screamed. "No! No! No!"_

_Big, fat tears rolled down her cheeks and seeped through her fingers. Her chest convulsed and her voice hiccupped as she repeated the word, "No," from under her breath. _

_She could picture Goten reading the letter – her heartfelt declaration of love. She could see him rolling his eyes and laughing at it. "Stupid little girl," he would mutter. He had someone better than her. He had the original, not some cheap copy like her. She could picture him leaving the campsite, flying high up into the sky, hovering in the misty clouds. He would make a backwards glance at the cherry blossom tree. She was sure that he couldn't miss it, its bright pink flowers a glaringly stark contrast from the surrounding green foliage. He had good eyesight. He would probably be looking down on her like a little ant. He would laugh at her silliness. Then he would shoot off into the sky, headed toward his true love. He would no longer be able to withhold his urges. He would find Bulma and make violent love to her. In his mind, he would be laughing at silly, naïve Bra. How could she have ever thought that she might hold a candle to her Mother? _

_~End Flashback~_

Bra laughed dryly. "Alright, alright, so I kind of have an overactive imagination. Goten wouldn't laugh at me… I don't think he would… No, he isn't like that. He's a nice boy. He would be touched by my letter. He was probably too embarrassed to tell me that he doesn't have feelings for me."

"Nevertheless, that isn't the point. I laid in a heap in the moist grass until it became dark. I cried, ignoring the chirping of bugs, and ignoring the probable worries of Pan and the others. They would be wondering where I was right about now. I didn't care. I masked my ki signature, and I cried my heart out. I allowed myself to feel miserable. And when at last I was done pitying myself, I decided it was high-time for me to change my game plan."

Bra smirked. "There is one particular thing that I did do right all along. I kept a backup plan. Remember how I told you that I'd abandoned step 3? Well, that isn't entirely true. I did force it to the back of my mind for the time being. I wasn't planning on going through with it, but I had thought a great deal about it. I prepared for it."

"As you hopefully remember, step 3 was to make Son Goku betray his wife to be with my Mother. Now, I realized somewhere along line that it was a pretty ridiculous step to my plan. I began to doubt the chances of succeeding in implementing this step in particular. I realized that Son Goku is a respectable man. He wouldn't just go and betray his wife for kicks. I wasn't even sure if he loved my Mom at the time. I knew that he had a very special affection for her. I knew this from prior experience. Just the way that he talks to her and says her name gives him away. I watched them carefully whenever they would reminisce together about their fond memories. There was definitely something there."

Bra absentmindedly moved her arms and legs up and down in the sand, creating a rudimentary sand angel in the process. "You're going to start thinking that I'm the devil in disguise right about now. This is where I began to get desperate. I realized that there was no possible way to get Goku in bed with my Mother unless some sort of… 'help' was involved. I did a lot of research to figure out what specific kind of 'help' I needed. Now… unless you have already guessed… I'm talking about psychoactive drugs."

"I was under the assumption that Goku and my Mom would never have sex together if they were in their right minds. Well, that's not entirely true. If Goku was up to it, I'm sure my Mother would be up to it too. Though, I knew that my Mother would never take advantage of Goku. So I realized that I would have to drug them both with my friend, Mr. Hallucinogen. They wouldn't be cheating. It would just be like a dream to them, a really nice dream. Well, it would be a nice dream until they woke up into a nightmare the next day." Bra smiled and giggled at the thought of it.

"After this was to be accomplished, there were many possible outcomes. For instance, Goku might realize that he has feelings for my Mother. Regardless of this, I would make sure that ChiChi and Goten found out about Goku's and my Mother's little rendezvous. A lot of things could happen, but I knew one thing was for certain. Goten would realize he was being used and he would be heartbroken. I would scoop him up into my arms and he would fall in love with his guardian angel – me."

Bra laughed. "It's a nice story, right?" Bra sat up abruptly and dusted the sand off of her hands, arms, clothing, and hair. "Well, that's enough of that. It didn't happen, so it's best that I move on with the turn of events, yes?"

"Hm… where was I?" Bra clasped her hands together and smiled. "Oh yes, I remember now. I changed my game plan. Once again, brace yourself… this is going to be kind of disturbing…"

_Two Weeks Ago:_

_Bra hugged her legs to her chest. There was a tight frown on her face. Her eyelashes stuck together from the remnants of her prior crying. Her eyebrows were furrowed together. Numerous emotions were plastered on her face: anger, hurt, sorrow, and oddly enough… determination. _

_Bra's fingernails clenched her waistline. "I will not lose to her!" she suddenly spat. _

_She wanted vengeance, but much more than that, she wanted Goten! Her thoughts were no longer a frantic pandemonium of worry. She had managed to calm herself down. 'What can I do now to win Goten's heart?' she wondered._

"_Well, Bra," she spoke with a trained calm tone, "it's obvious that the only problem is my Mother. I need to get rid of my Mother. I can have him if she's out of the picture."_

_~End Flashback~_

Bra genuinely burst out into hearty laughter. "I can just picture the look on your face! To answer your question… no… I'm not _that_ evil. I'm not going to become a psychotic murderer and go and kill my own Mother. I may not like my Mother, but I would never kill her! No, I thought of something much better than that. I'm not quite finished with this 'new' plan of mine, but so far, so good." Bra winked at her audience. "I'll let you in on my new plan once I've finished explaining that which needs explanation."

_Two Weeks Ago: _

_Bra glanced at her retrieved cell phone. It was currently 9:00 PM. A lot had happened since she'd angrily thrown it on the forest floor. For starters, she'd picked it up, secondly, she'd returned home – with a masked ki of course – and picked up something important, thirdly, she'd noticed that Goten was gone, fourthly, she'd resisted the urge to kill her Mother, and lastly, she'd returned to the campsite as stealthily as she had left. Of course, she'd taken her sweet time in returning, and so her absence was noticed._

_There was a group of people surrounding the campfire. Goku, Gohan, Pan, Marron, and Krillin were all present. ChiChi, Videl, and 18 had no doubt gone to sleep already. Pan sprung to her feet at the sight of Bra. _

"_Hey you! Where were you for like… three hours!" she shouted. _

_Bra could feel a headache coming on. "I went for a walk in the forest." _

_Pan narrowed her eyes skeptically. "Oh, that must have been fun," she stated plainly. She walked up to Bra and crossed her arms. Bra could tell that she was suspicious of something. She imagined Pan sniffing around her like a bloodhound. _

"_It was," Bra replied, completely unshaken by Pan's sudden advance._

_Pan wasn't finished with her assault of curiosity. "So…" she began, "you wouldn't happen to know where Goten is, would you?" _

_The instant Goten's name escaped Pan's lips, Bra felt as if a dagger had struck her heart. She had the sudden urge to slap Pan, as if she had uttered something obscene._

"_N – no!" Bra stammered. 'Damn her!' she thought. _

_Pan smirked in triumph. "Whatever, if you say so. It's just, he left around the same time you did, and he still hasn't returned."_

_Bra frowned. 'If he's not with my Mom anymore, and he isn't here… where did he go?' Bra shook her head to clear her thoughts. She knew why he wasn't here. He didn't want to see her face right now. It made enough sense._

_Bra accompanied Pan and joined the others around the campfire. They were telling ghost stories – another such thing that Bra was not in the least interested in. She instead chose to tune the group out and focus on what she planned on doing. She couldn't lie. She was actually kind of nervous. What she was about to do would not be easy. _

_She couldn't seem to figure out a plan. She could feel nervous butterflies flitting around in the bottom of her stomach. Goten had better love her after this, because this was her ultimate sacrifice!_

_Bra disciplined her nerves. 'Be patient Bra, just be patient! It will all fall into place.' She sat and listened to the stories and the jokes and the plain-old chit-chat of friends and family. Pan and Marron were the first to leave. It was now 10:30 PM._

"_C'mon Bra, it's getting late! We're gonna go to bed," Pan said, pulling on Bra's forearm. _

_Bra glared resentfully at Pan's hand. She hated this about Pan. She was incredibly bossy. Bra didn't like this one bit, and she also hated when people invaded her personal space. She did not like to be touched. _

"_I'll catch up with you in a little bit," Bra muttered, pulling her arm away from Pan's grasp. She didn't see the confused expression on Pan's face. She didn't notice Marron shrug her shoulders at Pan._

_Waiting was like torture. She didn't want to have to do what she was going to do. She'd never done anything like it before, and so she was nervous her plan might not work. She wanted to just hurry it along already, but found that when Gohan too had left the group, she was praying that Krillin would at least stay awhile longer. _

_Krillin did stay for about half an hour longer than Gohan did. At 11:50, he got up and stretched his limbs. "I'm gonna hit the hay you guys," he announced._

_Bra could feel her heart sink in her chest. It was now or never. She desperately wanted to just give up now. She didn't want to go through with it, but she sat glued to her spot on the ground. No! She had to do this, for Goten. It would be worth it for Goten! _

_Bra was never the life of the party. She knew if she didn't speak up soon, Goku would leave as well. "Hey, Uncle Goku, do you want some hot chocolate?"_

_It was a simple question. It wouldn't work on anybody but Goku. Hot chocolate at 12:00 AM is downright silly. Chocolate has caffeine, and caffeine means no sleep. However, in Goku's case, the will of his stomach was stronger than the will of his mind. _

"_You know what? That sounds great!" Goku exclaimed with a bright smile._

_Bra forced a small smile of her own. She kind of felt bad for the poor guy. This was going to hurt him more than it would hurt her. "In that case, I'll be right back."_

_Bra retrieved a pot and some bottled water. She heated up the water in the pot over the campfire. Once it started to boil, she excused herself to go get the hot chocolate mugs and mix. She brought the hot water with her. She carefully poured the hot water into the mugs, followed by the hot chocolate mix. She stirred the mix in with a spoon. She stared at the cups of steaming liquid for a moment. She pulled a little pouch out of her pocket. It was filled with a fine powdery substance. She opened it up and carefully poured the substance into one of the mugs. Her hand trembled as she poured it in and thoroughly stirred it up. She sniffed at it to see if it had a funny odor, it didn't, but to be sure, she added extra hot chocolate mix to the concoction to make sure Goku wouldn't taste any off flavor in his drink._

_She walked back as slowly as possible. She was nervous. Her whole body was quivering. She didn't want to screw up, not now. She had to be careful!_

"_Here you go," she said, handing Goku his mug._

"_Thanks a bunch, Bra!" he replied, taking in a whiff of the hot and steamy beverage._

_Bra winced. She felt as if he could read her mind. He had to know what she was up to! He took his first sip. She took in a deep breath full of apprehension._

_Goku smiled and said. "Mmm… delicious!" _

_Bra laughed nervously. "Thanks."_

_Bra didn't have a lot of time to think about what she was about to do. She did have time earlier, but now it seemed as if it had all become real. The truth of it hit her like a speeding bullet._

_Goku gulped down his hot cocoa, and within minutes she could tell that he was loopy and disoriented. Her first clue was that he tipped his head and said, "Woah… when did you get here?"_

_She absentmindedly wondered what he was seeing. Was his vision hazy? Was everything colorful? He was moving kind of slowly. His motor skills were messed up. She felt awkward now. How was she to begin? What should she do?_

"_Um… Follow me, Goku," she said, grabbing his hand and dragging his languid body behind her. _

"_Okaaaybulma…" his voice slurred._

_Bra dragged him through the forest of trees. She was searching for a good secluded spot. "What did you just say?" she asked._

"_Okayyy Bulma," he said more distinctly. _

_Bra's throat immediately constricted. 'Holy shit! This is way too easy! He already thinks I'm her, and I didn't even have to try to convince him!"_

_Bra fumbled with her cell phone again. The time read 12:15 AM. Bra couldn't find a good spot, and she knew she never would. She needed to work quickly. The faster she got this over with, the better. She pulled Goku closer to her body and his arms encircled her waist. He smiled at her, but it wasn't his usual goofy smile. It seemed… different. To her, this smile didn't belong on his face. It looked as if he was smirking at her._

"_Something the matter?" he asked, his voice surprisingly fluid. _

_Bra's heart palpitated in her chest. Her eyes widened it alarm. "No."_

_Bra knew that even in his drugged state, he would not go any further without a little push. She batted her eyelashes and encircled her arms around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and smacked his lips against her own. She gave him a deep, wet, passionate kiss. This would be sure to turn him on._

_Their lips broke apart with a soft smacking sound. She could see the lust and longing in his eyes, but immediately, she realized that it wasn't enough. Goku pulled backward with a frown. _

"_B – Bulma, I can't…" he protested._

_Bra slyly moved her index finger up to his lips to silence him. "Shhh… don't worry," she whispered. "Nothing's wrong with this, you're dreaming, Goku."_

_Goku's eyes widened in surprise. "I – I am?" he asked. _

_She could tell by the puzzled expression on his face that he was very confused of whether or not he was really lucid in the first place. It would be easy to convince him._

"_Yes, darling," she crooned, running her hand softly against his face. "We can finally be together."_

_Goku rested his head in the nook of her neck. She shuddered as she felt his moist breath press against her skin. "So long," he murmured in an almost whiny voice._

"_What?" Bra asked._

"_19 years, Bulma… so long," he moaned._

_She could feel his rough hands on her waist; he fumbled with the clasp on her skirt. He managed to undo the clasp and pull the skirt down to her ankles. As he was lifting her shirt, she gasped. She didn't gasp from what he was doing. She gasped because she'd put two and two together. 'Goku has slept with my Mother before!' _

_She didn't have time to ponder this discovery, because she nearly shoved Goku away as she realized that his hand was trailing its way into her underwear. She resisted the urge to scream. As he fondled her, she thought, "Pretend that it's Goten. Pretend that it's Goten. He looked so similar to him, perhaps it was possible."_

"_I love you, Bulma," he whispered in her ear._

_That was the moment that she'd lost all hope of convincing herself she was making love to Goten. _

_About 30 Minutes Later:_

_Bra lay down in the dew covered grass. Her skin had goose bumps all over it. She was cold, and she felt so dirty. Goku lay next to her with his arm casually strewn over her chest. He was sound asleep. She on the other hand, had never felt so alert and wakeful in her entire life. _

_She carefully brushed Goku's arm off of her chest and she tiptoed around the premises, picking up her clothing. She hurriedly got dressed and made her way back to camp. She snuck into the girls' tent and grabbed her bag of belongings. She flew as fast as she could away from the campsite. She wasn't paying any attention to where she was headed. She just knew that she had to get the hell out of there. _

_She eventually landed at the small lake where only hours earlier, she'd swam with Goten. It brought back menacing memories of what could have been, but at this point she didn't care. She felt too damn dirty to care._

_She ripped off her soiled clothing and shivered as she noticed the trail of blood running down her thigh. And to think that she had been saving herself for Goten! Nevertheless, she had done all of this for him. She fumbled through her bag until she found a bar of soap. She jumped into the water and ignored the cold chill that immediately blanketed her entire body._

_She rubbed the soap against every square inch of her skin. She scrubbed so hard that her skin began to rash. She didn't care. She felt so filthy. The scrubbing of disinfectant didn't help one bit. When she was dry and wearing clean clothing, she still felt as if she was soiled. She absentmindedly wondered if this feeling would ever go away._

_She threw her dirty clothing in the air and incinerated it with a ki blast. She then took off into the sky again, and she didn't stop until she reached Pelican Isle. She touched down on the empty beach. She curled up into a little ball beneath a palm tree, and she cried for hours._

_~End Flashback~_

Bra drew a heart in the sand. "That's not the end of my story."

She reached over to her side and dragged a sky blue bag toward her body. She reached into the bag and produced her cell phone. She fumbled with it for a moment. She held up the screen so that it was in plain sight. Displayed on the screen was a small picture of a microphone, beneath it, it read: Audio Recording.

"I told you that I would do anything for Goten," she said, before pressing a button and playing what had been recorded.

There was a lot of moaning. There was an indistinct voice of a female, and there was also a recognizable voice of a male. Without a doubt, it was the voice of Son Goku. A lot of harsh breathing could be heard, shuffling, panting, moaning, and squealing. Then, there was a soft unrecognizable whisper. Without warning, Goku began to shout, "Oh, oh yes! Bulmaaaa!"

Bra made a distasteful frown and stopped the sound clip. "You get the idea. I bet you can't guess what I'm going to do with this little gem!" Bra smirked and said, "Go ahead, admit that you hate me now."


	8. It's Not Cheating if:

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 6: It's Not Cheating if You Don't Get Caught**_

Bra pulled her keychain out of her bag and fumbled around for her house key. She found it and unlocked the door. When she pulled open the door, she was expecting something to happen out of the ordinary. It didn't. The door swung open to reveal an empty foyer. The house was silent.

She had expected to be greeted by her Mother, maybe even Trunks. She could sense that they were both home – an unlikely occurrence on most occasions. Though, to her surprise, upon her arrival, neither of them stirred. She thought that her Mother was surely going to chastise her for being away for two weeks. She hadn't called to say if she was alright or anything. Wasn't a Mother supposed to be ticked off because of that?

Bra replaced her keys in her bag and began her trek to her bedroom. She didn't bother being quiet about her return. She was kind of amused about it herself. She found that she was a little disappointed that her ridiculous actions hadn't stirred up any negative consequences or even any sort of reaction at all.

She walked into her bedroom and shut the door. She glanced around at all of her belongings. They felt the same. She was thinking that her room would feel different somehow. She herself felt different. Her encounter with the truth had changed her a little bit. She walked over to the windowsill and gazed at a vase full of flowers. She lifted up a wilted and very dry flower. Upon contact with her hand, the head of the flower snapped off of its brittle stem, and it fell onto her windowsill.

"These were the flowers Goten had given me," she muttered. "It feels like it was so long ago now. I know that they are dead, but I can't bring myself to dispose of them."

Bra pulled up her desk chair to her windowsill and sat down. She idly poked and prodded at the fallen dead flower. "What should I do now?" she questioned aimlessly. She knew what she had to do.

She lifted her head to gaze out the water-spotted windowpane. Today was a beautiful day. She couldn't ruin someone's life on a beautiful day. It didn't have to be rainy and stormy out or anything. It just couldn't be such pristine, cheerful weather. If it were just a little colder. If only the wind had picked up that morning, then she would feel fine ruining somebody's life. Though, this weather was making her optimistic, too hopeful to do anything drastic today.

"I know that I've had all of the time in the world to think, but I still haven't quite decided how I'm going to approach this. Shall I blackmail Goku into having an affair with my Mother? Should I make him act as if he loves her? Then, once she's left Goten high and dry, Goku will be set free of his blackmail bondage. He'll return to his wife, and he will wish that she never finds out about what happened. He'll leave my Mother to writhe around in her own self pity and loathing."

Bra smiled. "That sounds enjoyable, but I really don't want to have to drag Goku into this even further. I kind of feel bad for manipulating him. I wonder if he thinks what happened was a dream? Maybe he still thinks he had sex with my Mother? Maybe he's somehow figured out that I was the one he had sex with? I hope he never figures that out, because I will deny it, and I know that whether or not I fess up to it, it will destroy him to know what he's done."

Bra tapped her fingers on the windowsill. "What to do? What to do?" she murmured. "I could always go to my Mother. I could let her listen to the recording. She will instantly know that it's me on the sound clip and not her, but that's not what I'm interested in. Whether or not the fact that I've slept with the man she loves hurts her or not isn't what really matters, though, if it did hurt her, that would be an added bonus!" Bra shook her head. "No, what matters is that Goku admits on the recording that he loves her, and not only that, he incriminates the both of them. It's made obvious that they've had an affair before."

"If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that my Mother loves Goku dearly. Why else would she find it in her heart to leave him alone all of these years? She loves him so much; she doesn't want to pursue her feelings for fear of hurting him." Bra laughed a little. "When I say it that way, it actually seems a little valiant of my Mother. Though, that still doesn't change the fact that she's a bitch that has crossed the line!"

"Hm…" Bra hummed, drumming her fingernails more stridently against the windowpane. "I think that the cleaner I make this cut, the better. I don't have to incriminate my Mother or Son Goku. I don't want to hurt Goku; he's done nothing to me before. Although I would love to reap some vengeance against my Mother, I'm not solely concerned with that. No, I would much rather just win Goten over and get this over with. Don't get me wrong, I like to be a spiteful bitch sometimes just as much as anyone else, but I really just want to end this travesty already. I can simply go to my Mother, make it known that I know her dirty little secret, and I can use her love for Goku as leverage to break her up with Goten. 'Mother,' I will say, 'if you don't break up with Goten this instant, I will show this recording to ChiChi. It will ruin Goku's life! Mother, I'll show it to Daddy too!' She won't have choice. It should be easy as pie."

Bra sighed dejectedly. "All I ever wanted was Goten. Why does it have to be such a big deal? Why does it have to be so damn hard to get him?"

Bra ran her slender fingers through her mop of blue hair. "What am I doing?" she whispered. "So what if it's a nice day out? That can't stop me! I can't let anything stop me now! No… I have to hurry this up or I'm screwed!" Bra's eyebrows furrowed together anxiously and she spoke with a low tone of voice, "You see, there's something I've left out of the story, and I'm running out of time!"

Bra was about to begin the long and arduous process of explain herself once again, but she was interrupted by the ring of the doorbell echoing up the stairs, through the hallway, and underneath her bedroom door. She was going to ignore it, but she suddenly had a thought. Trunks _never_ answered the door. _'Maybe I should answer it?' _she thought. _'Nah… Mom will get it.' _

Bra wasn't sure why she chose to pay attention to her Mom's ki at that particular moment, but she did. Bra sighed in frustration. Her Mother wasn't getting up to answer the door. She wasn't even moving an inch. _'Damn-it!' _Bra thought, getting up and leaving her room.

"Coming!" Bra hollered. The doorbell rang again. "Hold your horses!" she shouted, thinking, _'Hm… déjà vu…' _

Bra answered the door and nearly fainted an instant later. Her mouth fell agape and she struggled to make a coherent word. "G… G…"

"Bra," Goten said, reaching out to steady her by her shoulders. "Are you alright?"

"G… Goten!" Bra replied finally, "Why... you're here?"

Bra instantly felt like an idiot. She hated herself for being so stupid. Why did she always have to go and get tongue-tied whenever Goten was around? Why couldn't she ever think straight when she was looking at him?

Goten shuffled his feet around nervously. "You see, I came to apologize to you," he said.

Bra's face instantly turned the shade of a beet. _'Oh Kami… I can't handle this right now!' _she thought frantically. She thought she might die from the sheer amount of embarrassment she was feeling at that particular instant.

"No!" she blurted out, "Don't apologize, I was stupid! I should have known you wouldn't… I was being so childish. Don't apologize to me, Goten!"

"What?" Goten asked, his face becoming pallid. He vehemently shook his head no. "You don't understand, Bra!"

Bra was acutely aware that his hands were still resting on her shoulders. She suddenly realized that she was crying. _'Damn-it Bra!' _she thought. She suddenly knew that she would never forgive herself for this. She was crying in front of Goten. She was acting like such a baby, but she couldn't will herself – no-matter how hard she tried – not to cry!

Goten's eyebrows drew together in worry and frustration. "Don't cry, Bra," he pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Bra whimpered, inwardly cursing herself for being so pathetic. _'Goten's never going to love me now!'_

"Stop apologizing!" Goten demanded. "I came here to say sorry to you! I'm sorry, Bra. I'm really, really sorry I was late in meeting you."

Bra hiccupped and muttered, "What?" He'd caught her off guard. Late? What did he mean by that?

Goten's hands squeezed her shoulders more tightly. "I know I was supposed to meet you at 7:00 PM, and I know you must hate me for not showing up on time since it was so important! That's why you disappeared right? I was so worried about you! I'm sorry, I just… I was taken by surprise and I was flustered! I didn't know what I should do at first. At the last minute, I realized that… that it wouldn't be fair to show up a taken man. I've been seeing someone… for a long time now, years. I had to end it… before I came. I was really late, I know it, and I'm so sorry for it, Bra. When I got there, you had left already. I waited all night… I even fell asleep under the tree. Please forgive me?"

"Y – you were… c – coming?" Bra murmured in utter disbelief, "f – for me?"

She lifted a shocked hand to her trembling lips. She clenched her eyes shut and more tears made their escape down her flushed cheeks.

"Bra?" Goten muttered with a worried tone.

Bra rubbed the tears away with her fist and she sniffled. She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "Goten?" _'Is this real?' _she thought absentmindedly.

Goten's hand cradled Bra's chin and he tilted her head up so that he could kiss her lips. Bra's heart instantly melted. She felt like she could die happy now.


	9. The Other Woman

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 7: The Other Woman**_

_Because one-sided stories can be unreliable:_

_The Night of the Camping Trip:_

_Bulma Briefs was sitting on a chair at the back porch of her house. She was reading a novel by the illumination of a feeble patio light. She was only reading the book half-heartedly. Come to think of it, she'd been living lackadaisically for the past few years. Her life was droningly repetitive, and only on rare occasions did she have a genuinely good day. She flipped a page and sighed as she continued onward. _

_She was glad to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of Goten. He didn't bother calling. He never did. He came over whenever he felt like it – almost as if he owned the place. She kind of liked that quality in him. He was so sure of himself. She used to be like that; nowadays, she found herself questioning a lot of her actions. A smile slowly spread across her lips. _

"_Sorry to show up out of the blue," Goten said._

_Bulma furrowed her eyebrows in puzzlement. 'What?' she thought. Goten never apologized for barging in! This was nothing like him! She instantly realized that something was off and it tugged at her curiosity. _

_She hid her inner bemusement and smiled at him. "You don't have anything to be sorry about. You know you're always welcome here."_

_Bulma pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. She took a slow drag of her cigarette and sighed. Goten was watching the small plume of smoke lift and curl in the air. Bulma hated her addiction, but she hated being inhospitable more than anything. She lifted the pack toward Goten and poked another cigarette out. _

"_You want one?" she asked._

_Goten shook his head no._

'_Naw…' she thought, 'he's a good boy.' She wondered absentmindedly why he wasn't talking. Usually, you couldn't get the guy to shut up. There was nothing Goten loved more than talking about himself, his accomplishments, his family, even just random uninteresting garbage. She didn't mind listening. It gave her something to do after all. It distracted her. So, now that he was being unnaturally silent, she was starting to feel a little awkward and somewhat antsy. She looked up at him expectantly. _

"_So… what were you doing?" he asked finally._

_This was another rare occurrence. He almost never asked about her. In fact, she was certain that upon being asked what her favorite color was, he wouldn't have a clue. The truth was that he didn't know a damn thing about her. _

'_What am I doing?' she thought. 'Let's see… I… Bulma Briefs, daughter of Dr. Briefs, the founder of Capsule Corporation… what am I doing? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! I'm not spending time with my family. I'm not tinkering with an invention or doing paperwork. No… I was just sitting outside reading a trashy romance novel that doesn't in the least bit interest me! What's wrong with me?'_

_Bulma took another drag and stared off in the distance. "Reading a book," she muttered. _

"_Oh…"_

"_Goten, do you want some tea?" she asked._

"_No thanks, Bulma," he replied. _

"_Some wine; beer?" she continued._

"_No…"_

_Bulma wasn't born yesterday. She'd figured out why Goten had visited her almost the instant she sensed something was off. She couldn't believe it was finally happening at first. She wasn't sad about it. She merely wondered what she would do with all of her free time now. _

_She sat silently for awhile. She didn't keep track of the time, and Goten didn't interrupt her again. He stood still as a statue, waiting for her to speak. They didn't really have much of a relationship. Bulma had tried to explain to him in the beginning that she wasn't interested in anything but the sex. In all honesty, she couldn't care less about the sex. She just liked that he reminded her so much of the man she loved... the man she couldn't have._

_Countless times over the years, Goten had tried to make it more. He was sentimental. He was young and naïve. He didn't entirely understand the meaning of the term: friends with benefits. Bulma suddenly hoped that she was right in her theory. She needed to get rid of Goten. She needed to set him free. She decided that she needed to do it now. She would speed it along. She owed that to him._

"_Goten, why are you here?" she asked. _

_Goten twiddled his thumbs anxiously. He was never nervous about anything, yet here he was, unable to speak what was truly on his mind. "To see you."_

"_Why are you really here, Goten? Tell me what you came here to say," she demanded, trying to keep her tone as soft as possible. _

_Goten looked away in embarrassment. "I don't want to hurt you."_

"_You're under the pretense that I can be hurt by you. I won't be," she stated plainly. _

_Goten appeared confused for a minute. Didn't she care about him? The childish naivety was resurfacing again. "I came here to break up with you," he suddenly blurted out._

_Bulma couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Oh Goten, we were never together like that. You don't have to do this…" _

_Goten frowned and argued to the contrary: "Yes! Yes, I have to do this!"_

"_Okay," Bulma replied calmly, "then, you have. You're done now, right? You can go see that special girl now, Goten."_

"_Stop trying to hide it, Bulma!" Goten exclaimed. "You can at least show that you're a little bit upset about this!"_

_Bulma frowned. 'But I'm not…' she thought. 'Should I be? We've been doing this on and off for about 6 years… should I care?' Bulma searched her inner feelings for any bit of disappointment, even just a sprig. She couldn't find it. She felt relieved instead of hurt. _

'_Maybe… I can stop thinking of _him_ now… maybe I can get over _him_…' she thought. She could see that Goten was genuinely upset about this. Who wouldn't be upset if they were finding out that the person they'd been having a romantic relationship with for over half a decade just didn't care… didn't care about any of it! Bulma rested an index finger on her chin. 'Maybe I should act as if I'm upset…' she pondered. She didn't like the idea but… 'I owe it to him for wasting a large chunk of his life.' _

_Bulma outstretched her arms and motioned with her hands for him to come closer, all the while saying his name softly, "Goten."_

_Goten readily collapsed into her arms and even Bulma was slightly startled when she heard his muffled sobs. "I'm sorry, Bulma!" he exclaimed, looking up at her with large, glistening, innocent eyes. _

_It wasn't the first time Bulma felt like a criminal. "I know, Goten," she replied, rubbing his back, "it's okay."_

"_I didn't see it coming! It happened so fast!" he spoke urgently. "I didn't know I would fall in love with her! I didn't want to hurt you… I love you, Bulma. I never thought that I could love two people at the same time! But... I love her more... it isn't fair for either of you if I keep this going."_

_Bulma felt a shiver run up her spine as she ran her fingers through his mess of ebony locks. She'd never felt so out of place in her entire life. "I know," she replied and thought, 'Whoever she is, she's a lucky girl.'_

_Goten held onto her hands tightly and begged, "Please forgive me!"_

_Bulma kissed his forehead gently, producing more bitter tears to seep from his eyes. "There's nothing to forgive," she replied with a sigh. "You and I both know that it wasn't meant to be." _

* * *

_Later that night, Bulma lay awake in bed as time stretched on into the wee hours of the morning. She stared blankly up at the ceiling. The plain grayish-looking surface glared back at her with its never-ending monotony of color. Her thoughts ran amuck in her brain. Try as she might, she couldn't think of a moment in her life when she felt as low as she did now. _

_Bulma was certainly glad that her awkward relationship with Goten was over. She knew that she needed to end it soon anyway. It had been going on way too long. She'd told herself early on, 'It will just be for a little while. It will just be a distraction for now while I'm at my worst.' She thought she could distract herself from her feelings for Goku. Anything was better than facing them head-on. Now that it was over, she knew that she would feel no alleviation. There would be no distraction from the feelings that had been gnawing relentlessly at her heart for decades._

_The simple, plain, ugly truth was that she loved Son Goku. She'd figured it out the day before he'd proposed to his wife. She didn't speak up and she lost her chance. ChiChi got her claws in him first. She'd tried to ignore it, to forget it. It worked for awhile, but after that one incident… it all came crashing down on her. She knew what she had now: she had an addiction. 'I need to erase any preconception I have that something can happen between the two of us. He's a taken man, period,' Bulma thought. _

_She was also well-aware that none of this was fair to Vegeta. Vegeta… she wondered where he was right now. She questioned – now that he knew the dreadful truth – whether or not he would ever return home. 'Is this place even a home to him anymore… to me anymore? Wasn't I supposed to be his home? When did this place turn into a house… just another address on a map?' _

_A soft whimper of despair slipped past Bulma's parted lips. 'Oh Kami!' she thought, 'What's wrong with me? How could I hurt him like this? He's changed so much for me over the years that he's practically been molded into a whole new person altogether! I haven't changed at all! I'm still the same old selfish, narcissistic woman that I've always been! If it weren't for the kids, it'd be better for Vegeta if he never came back. After what I've done, I can't blame him if he doesn't! I don't deserve to even look at him anymore!'_

_Bulma wiped a tear away from the corner of her eye with her forefinger. 'I know this to be true,' she thought miserably, 'yet, I still want him to come back to me! I still desperately need him!' _

_~End Flashback~_

_19 years ago: _

_She'd told herself that she would stay away from him if it killed her. Every time she saw him it felt as if she was walking on a thin, tight rope, and with the slightest imbalance, she would fall. She had to watch what she said, where she looked, what she thought… one mistake and she would plunge. But every time she saw him, she couldn't help having her breath taken away. Her heart instantly melted and she couldn't help thinking of all of the reasons why she'd fallen in love with him in the first place. _

_She hated to admit it, but it was a lot easier for her when he was dead. Being dead didn't just draw a line between him and her, it built an unsurpassable wall. When he came back, it was a shock. She didn't know what to do. It wasn't like before. When Goku was dead, he had a lot of time to think, and apparently, his emotions didn't differ too far from her own. He wasn't cold and calculating like her. He didn't think in terms of practicality. He didn't know what he was doing, and soon enough, he was trying to inch his way closer to her without even noticing it himself. _

_She had told herself that everything would be alright so long as she kept her distance; she didn't account for his actions. So when he finally crossed the line himself, her defenses were down. She'd counted on his willpower. She thought that he would be strong enough to stay away from her. After all, hadn't she been strong enough to stay away from him all of those long years? Wasn't Goku supposed to be the toughest guy around? He wasn't. He crossed the line. He'd broken before she did. She couldn't help but wonder if it weren't for Goku's faulty resolve… would she still be where she was right now? _

_It all started when Goku had asked her to meet him at his Grandpa's house. It seemed so innocent. He hadn't planned for anything. Goku just wanted to commemorate his Grandfather's life, and who better to request to tag along than Bulma? He honestly hadn't planned to lose control. Nostalgia resurfaced dusted-over emotions in the both of them… Goku couldn't help but ask:_

"_Bulma, how come nobody told me you could love two people at the same time?" _

_Bulma truly didn't have an answer for that. "Who ever thinks of those things, Goku?" she asked. Her eyes were glued to the ground. She was examining her white high-heeled shoes. 'No one ever told me either,' she thought._

_Goku smiled and joked, "I wish someone would have warned me."_

_He was trying to get a rise out of Bulma. This subject was forbidden. From the moment they had admitted their feelings for each other after he'd been given life again, it was taboo. Though, he asked anyway because he felt like something was missing out of the picture. He ventured to bring the unmentionable subject up again because he needed something answered… he didn't know what that something was._

"_I don't think it would have made a difference," Bulma replied. She chanced looking into his eyes. He looked so vulnerable. She felt guilty for coming here. _

"_Bulma, I know that… I know that these feelings are wrong," Goku began, twiddling his thumbs nervously, "but I can't help wondering…"_

'_Shut up damn you!' her mind screamed. 'Don't say another word! Please don't say it!' _

_She didn't even realize that she muttered the word, "What?" until it was too late._

_Goku gave her a thin smile. It was very uncharacteristic for him. It almost appeared deflated. "I can't help wondering what it would be like…" He took pause again. He had trouble finding the right words. He looked into her eyes and the sparkle of vitality that shown in his onyx eyes made Bulma want to cry. Those beautiful eyes should have never been marred by doubt or unhappiness! It was criminal! _

_Goku reached out and touched Bulma's cheek. "Goku don't," Bulma protested. This is what she had been scared of all along! _

"… _to be with you…" he finished. _

_And that's when the unthinkable happened. There was no holding back any longer. Goku's lips crushed against Bulma's. His hands ran through her hair. How many times had he dreamt of doing that? And Bulma… she had had no self control the instant his lips met with hers. His fingers trailed over her soft skin, his lips sucked and kissed every square inch of her body with a ravenous hunger. Bulma instantly knew she should have shoved him off of her. She knew that she was cursing herself even more. She simply couldn't stop. It was as if her lips, hands, arms… her entire body had a mind of its own. To the both of them, it wasn't a simple desire anymore. It was a need. _

_~End Flashback~_

_About a Month and ½ Before the Camping Trip:_

_Bulma couldn't believe she'd actually told him. She'd told him every last bit of the reeking, disgusting truth. Salty mascara-stained tears made trails down Bulma's flushed cheeks. She sniffled her runny nose and smudged her blackened tears with the back of her hand._

_Her airway constricted and her chest heaved, causing soft gasps of air to slip past her moistened lips. "Vegeta…" she whispered, hiccupping. _

"_Please listen! Please let me explain it all to you before you say anything. Please?" she had begged prior to her explanation._

_He had dutifully listened. He hadn't spoken a word. His face had been impassive at first as he tried to abstain from showing his anger, but slowly his facial features had tightened more and more until it set into a dirty scowl. Regardless, he had waited for her to finish before he spoke his mind._

_The look he was giving her now made her tremble. She had never seen this look before. He wasn't just mad, he wasn't just angry, he was pissed! His eyes glinted with what she could only connect with antipathy, repulsion, and hatred. She had done the unthinkable. He appeared as if at any moment he might spit on her._

"_You whore!" he hissed through clenched teeth. "You fucking slut!"_

_He didn't lash out at her physically. He of all people would never harm a hair on her pretty head. He didn't have to strike her. The tone of his voice was enough. She whimpered as if he'd slapped her and she shrunk away from him a like a sniveling outcast._

_The tears came cascading down her face again. Her chest was convulsing so much she couldn't speak. She just shook her head back and forth in disbelief. She clenched her hair in her fists and tugged. "S… S… S…" she stuttered under her breath._

"_S – sorry! I'm s – so sorry, V – eg – geta!" She blubbered. "I'm so awful! I h – hate myself!"_

_Vegeta grabbed Bulma roughly by the shoulders and pulled her back toward him. "You're sorry?" he asked with a sardonic laugh. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!" he spat._

_Bulma frantically shook her head no. "No… no… no…" she murmured. Her eyes flitted to the ground, to the walls, to the ceiling, to anything in the room but Vegeta's eyes. She couldn't bear to look into his reproachful eyes any longer. _

"_Yes!" he snapped, shaking her by the shoulders. "Yes! Yes! Yes! You're not in the least bit sorry, Bulma!"_

_Bulma yelped and clenched her eyes shut and more tears escaped through the corners. He'd called her Bulma. He'd actually called her by her first name! He never did that. It was over now! She knew that she'd blown it now! He was royally ticked, and Vegeta was not the type of man to forgive and forget. It was the end of them. He didn't want a soiled woman any longer!_

_Bulma sobbed uncontrollably. 'No, no… I can't lose him! I love him so much! I can't live without him!' she thought miserably. _

_Bulma flinched as she felt Vegeta's rough, calloused hand grapple with her chin. He forcibly made her face his wrath head-on. _

"_Open your eyes, Bulma!" he demanded. _

_Bulma whimpered and tried to shake her head no again, but his hold on her chin was too firm. _

"_I said open them Kami-Damn-it!" he snarled. _

_Bulma sniffled and lifted her puffy eyelids with what little willpower she had left. 'I'm so stupid! I never meant to hurt him like this, but I did anyway. I'm so fucking stupid!' she thought._

_The intensity of his glare was simply unfathomable. Bulma winced from the sight of it. "You love him!" he hissed. _

"_Yes," she whispered._

_He looked like he could kill her. No, he looked like he could and would kill Goku. His scowl tightened. His upper lip curled up and his nose scrunched up in disgust. A piercing snarl hissed through his bared teeth. He looked like a dangerous animal. _

"_Kakarrot! Him of all people!" he roared. "Why him damn-it?"_

"_I couldn't help it," she mumbled._

_Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. "Liar! You could have stayed away from him, but no, you had to whore around and – "_

_Bulma interrupted with a little bit of fire. " – I tried! It was once, nineteen years ago!" _

_If it were at all possible, the next look he gave her startled her the most. It was a look of recognition. 'No… no… please no!' she thought. Vegeta's mind quickly put two and two together. _

_He let go of Bulma and stumbled backward in utter shock. His eyes were wide and his mouth was agape. He looked horrified. "Bra…" he whispered. Bra, his pride and joy, Daddy's little girl, no… it couldn't be!_

_Bulma's knees shook and her legs gave way. She fell into a heap on the ground and bawled. That was enough of an answer for Vegeta._

"_Fuck!" he screamed. _

_Bulma looked up at him with glistening and pleading eyes filled with distress. _

"_Tell me! I have to hear you say it!" he demanded._

"_I d – don't know," she replied softly._

"_What?" he shouted, "What the hell do you mean 'you don't know'?"_

"_I don't kn – know if she's yours… or if she's his…" she whispered. She couldn't bear to say his name. Saying his name made it that much more real. _

"_You. Don't. Know!" he shouted. "Oh! How spectacular, how fucking perfect!"_

_Bulma finally managed to gather enough strength to make her argument: "I didn't get a DNA test, Vegeta. I couldn't… to me, she's yours. Her blood doesn't matter because in my heart, I know that she's meant to be your daughter. I don't need a test to tell me what is what. I don't know who the biological Father is, but I know who her Dad is. You are, Vegeta!"_

_Bulma could see a lone tear make its courageous journey down Vegeta's sharp cheekbone. Her heart skipped a beat. What had she done to him? She'd made him cry, Vegeta of all people. She had stripped him of his pride in the worst possible ways. Vegeta lived for his pride! He would never find it in his heart to forgive her now, she was sure of it!_

_Vegeta's expression became lifeless. "Do you even care about me, or was it all just a ruse?"_

_Bulma vehemently shook her head no. "Of course it isn't! I love you, Vegeta. I love you so much… I can't bear it! I can't bear the thought of losing you! I know what I did is unforgivable! I know that I shouldn't love Goku! I'm going to stop what I'm doing with Goten too – "_

"_You don't get it!" Vegeta snapped. "I hate what you've done with that brat! I despise it! You sicken me! But I know that you don't give a flying rat's ass about him! What I can't stand is that you love Kakarrot! What I can't fathom is that you've lied to me for decades!"_

_Fresh tears streamed down Bulma's face. "I'm sorry! I'm pathetic! I'm so sorry!"_

"_I don't want to hear your sniveling apologies!" he spat venomously._

"_I – I know…" she murmured. "But Vegeta… I love you so much more than him!"_

_For a moment, it seemed as if that struck a chord with Vegeta. It didn't. "Then you wouldn't have done what you did!"_

"_I promise it will never happen again. Please don't leave me, Vegeta!" she pleaded, reaching out and touching his arm._

_Vegeta tore his arm out of her grasp. "Like hell it won't! You still love him!"_

"_No… I promise!" she continued desperately._

"_If you care about me at all, you will end it now," he said._

_That was the last Bulma had heard from Vegeta for over a month. He left. One of her space ships went mysteriously missing the following morning. Bra had mentioned something about Vegeta going off to train in space for a few weeks, but would it really only be a few weeks?_

_~End Flashback~_

_The Morning Following the Night of the Camping Trip:_

_Bulma woke up with a gasp, and she suddenly sat up in her bed. She was shocked that she'd actually fallen asleep. With the way things had been going, she was thinking she was going to have yet another restless night. She glanced over her shoulder at the red light of her alarm clock. The time read 4:00 AM. Bulma sighed; so she'd only been asleep for one measly hour. _

'_I need to end it now. I need to stop living like this. I need to talk to Goku. I need to tell him that we can never see each other again! I will stop loving him if it kills me! I will stop loving him no-matter what it takes. If I have to gather the Dragon Balls and make a wish, so be it. It won't be the first superficial wish ever made!'_

_Bulma crossed her arms and smiled in determination. Yes, she could do this. She knew that she could do this now. She'd been through so much, made so many mistakes along the way, but she knew now that she _finally _had the strength to do whatever it would take to end this scandal!_

_She involuntarily reached for the cell phone on her nightstand to call and tell Vegeta the exciting news. Just before she dialed the first number, she made a quick double-take. 'Oh yeah...' she thought solemnly. She glanced over at the empty side of the bed and sighed._

_She'd tried numerous times before to call Vegeta, but he never answered his phone. She wasn't surprised at all. She didn't deserve to hear his voice and she knew it, yet she couldn't help calling him. It was instinctual. She wanted to hear his voice. She worried if he was alright. _

_Against her better judgment, she dialed the numbers into the cell phone. 'Whether he answers or not, he deserves to know. I owe it to him!' She inhaled a deep breath of air before pressing the send button. She held the device up to her ear with trembling hands._

_It ringed 5 times, and she was about to give up. She already imagined hearing the voicemail message running in her head. The voicemail didn't pick up. There was a click._

"_Hello," a gruff voice answered._

_Bulma's heart skipped a beat. "Vegeta?" she asked._

"_What do you want?" he demanded._

_Bulma couldn't help but break out and cry at the sound of his voice. She knew that he still hated her, but hearing his voice melted the cockles of her heart. She was crying tears of bittersweet happiness. _

"_It's so good to hear your voice! I didn't think you would answer." There she went, making small talk instead of getting to the point. The truth was, she was too nervous to get to the point._

_There was silence on the other end. She could hear him breathing, waiting for her to say something worth his while. _

"_I called because I had to hear your voice… even if it's one last time," she said quietly. _

_Still, silence. _

"_I'm aware that no amount of apologizing will ever wash away my guilt. I know that you hate me, and you have every right to hate me. Regardless of that, the truth is, I love you with all of my heart. I love you so much more than I love Goku! You mean so much more to me than he does! I've ended it all. I'm done with it. I don't care what it takes for me to fall out of love with Goku… whatever it is, I'll do it. It isn't fair to you, and from here on out, you will be the only man that holds a place in my heart! I'm not asking for forgiveness. I'm not asking for you to take me back. I know that with what I've done, it's impossible for you to ever look at me the same. It's impossible for you to ever love me again. I just wanted to show you that I do care, Vegeta. I know that it isn't much, but I hope that it can alleviate some of your hurt."_

_Bulma waited for a response, but she didn't receive any. _

"_I also called to ask you to come home – for the sake of Trunks and Bra. Bra is your daughter in all the ways that count. She loves you, Vegeta. Don't disappoint her like I've disappointed you, please!" _

_Bulma rubbed away a tear with her fist and sniffled before saying, "I want you to know, that I love you, Vegeta! I will always love you! And from here on out, you will be the only man that I love… no-matter whether you love me back or not…"_

_The line went silent. Vegeta made a small grunt of recognition and then there was a click. The dial tone hummed into Bulma's ear. She felt like she could die right then and there, and the rest of the world would just move on as it always does, only it would be earlier for her, much earlier. _

_~End Flashback~_


	10. Blackmail

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Chapter 8: Blackmail**_

"_You live and learn. At any rate, you live." – Douglas Adams_

Bra Briefs sat at her desk scribbling on a piece of notebook paper. The pen she was using had 'stolen from Basilio's Pizza' printed on it, and its ink was colored a fire-hot red. She wrote feverishly. Her hand darted across the page as a court stenographer would have done back in the day.

Her hand slid from side to side and quickly made its descent down the page. When she reached the bottom, she flipped the leaf and began on the backside. She took pause for a moment, and the stolen tool fell out of her hand. She shook her wrist and clenched her digits. She popped her knuckles.

She frowned and said, "Hand cramp." She brushed a blue lock of hair out her face. A smudge of bright red ink trailed down her pinky finger, nearly meeting at the nook at her wrist. She proudly lifted up the notebook and flipped a few pages to display her hard work.

Across every line of nearly twenty pieces of paper, it read: 'Mrs. Goten Son, Mrs. Goten Son, Mrs. Goten Son'. In the indentation on either side of the paper, she had written 'Bra Son' vertically to cover every last open area on the pieces of paper.

Bra smiled at her handiwork and let out a low whistle. "Wow," she muttered in shock, "I really need to find something to do… but everything's so perfect now. I don't have anything else to do, but sit back, relax, and bask in the glory of sweet, blissful success."

Bra sighed and her cheeks flushed a rosy red. Her face looked radiant and lovely. "I'm so happy. Goten loves me. No-longer will my Mother be the bane of my existence!"

Bra rested her chin in the palm of her hand with a look of pure euphoria upon her face. "I'm so excited to tell you about what happened… I'm so lucky, I must be in heaven."

_Two Weeks Ago:_

_Bra could feel Goten's lips crushing her own. They were soft and hot and wet. His virile scent attacked at her olfactory nerves. All of these sensations were making her so woozy; it was as if she was getting high off of the essence of Goten. He pulled back to look at her face with his bright, smiling eyes._

"_I love you, Bra," he admitted._

_She pulled his head toward her and kissed him again. She kissed his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his neck, his collarbone. "I" kiss "love" kiss "you" kiss "so" kiss "damn" kiss "much!" _

_Could this possibly be happening, or was this all just a silly dream? Did Goten really just profess his feelings for her? Did he really leave her Mother? 'If this is a dream,' she thought, nuzzling her face into the nook of his collarbone, "I hope that I never wake up!'_

_She grabbed Goten's forearm and tugged at it as she walked out the front door. Goten tailed behind in her wake with a look of bemusement. _

"_Where are we going?" he asked._

_Bra turned her head around to shoot him smile that was dangerously close to being considered a smirk. She giggled and replied, "It's a surprise!" whilst she thought, 'somewhere desolate… somewhere we can be in complete solitude…' _

_~End Flashback~_

Bra smiled and said, "I would continue, but the last bit is rated R, so you will just have to use your imagination."

Bra drummed her fingernails on her desk and continued, "I know what you're thinking: it's kind of ironic that just hours after Goten broke up with my Mother, I was sleeping with his Father. It's funny how life works out sometimes. If I could go back in time and tell myself, "What the hell do you think you're doing you stupid bimbo? Goten loves you, not her," I totally would. But, I really don't see why it matters that much… it all worked out for the best anyway, and Goten is definitely never going to find out the ugly truth.

_The Day After Bra's Return From Pelican Isle:_

_Bra was drawing hearts in her notebook. There was a large heart centered among a dozen smaller hearts. Within the larger heart, Bra was writing the name 'Goten', followed by the conjunction 'and', and just as she began making the loops of a capital 'B', she was startled by a loud knock on her window. _

_Bra gasped and paranoia drove her to immediately slam shut the cover of her notebook. She looked toward her windowpane to scope out the creator of the foreign noise. She gasped a second time and suddenly shifted backward in her chair, causing it to screech across the wooden floorboards. _

_She shakily stood up to unlatch the lock on her window, but the action was unnecessary. Without a moment's notice, standing between herself and her window was Son Goku. He had been the person who had startled her, and he had taken it upon himself to instant-transmit himself into her bedroom. _

_Fear mounted in Bra's chest and it left a dull ache. 'Why is he here?' she thought, 'He was so inebriated he couldn't have possibly made sense of his memory, could he?' Bra resisted the urge to back away from him like a scared animal. Then he would certainly know that something was amiss!_

_What frightened Bra even more then his sudden appearance was the look plastered on his face. There was no infamous goofy Son Goku smile on his lips. He was frowning, and his eyebrows were knitted together in what appeared to be a meager scowl. _

_Bra wanted to run away and hide more than anything else, but she would be damned if she would let herself incriminate herself like that! 'No!' she thought angrily, 'I am way too damn close to getting what I want! I've worked too hard to just throw in the towel now! If there is any doubt in his mind, I will obliterate it!' _

_Bra frowned slightly and raised a curious eyebrow. "What are you doing, Uncle Goku? Is something the matter? You look kinda upset." _

"_I think that you know why I'm here, Bra," Goku replied with a grated sounding voice. _

_Bra crossed her arms and forced herself to smile. "Oh, I get it! You came to remind me that the Z-fighter reunion is in two weeks, right?"_

"_No," he replied with a deadpan tone._

"_Then why – " began Bra, abruptly being cut off by:_

"_The night of the camping trip," he said, "what happened between the two of us when everybody went to sleep?"_

_Bra drew her eyebrows together in mock confusion. "Well… let's see… I made us hot chocolate. We talked for a bit, and then I became kind of sleepy, and I went to bed. I think you were a little sleepy too," she said with a wink, "you kept talking about my Mom. You were so silly, acting like you were drunk and all!"_

_Goku suddenly startled Bra by letting out a low, defensive growl. "No, Bra! Stop lying! I am not as stupid as you think! You drugged me didn't you?"_

_Bra's mouth hung agape. She appeared confused about what he was saying, but she wasn't. She was just shocked. The truth was she had thought he was stupid enough to believe her. She anxiously bit the bottom of her lip. "I don't know what – " she began relentlessly. _

" – _stop it!" Goku shouted. The sound of his voice jarred her nerves. "I don't know what you used, but I know that you drugged me, Bra! I remember enough to know that I slept with someone who I thought at the time was Bulma, and I – "_

" – _then maybe it was Bulma!" Bra replied defensively. She feigned a look of shock. "You slept with my Mother, didn't you? Just wait and see what happens when I tell Daddy!"_

_Goku narrowed his eyes at her and he clenched his fists so hard that he perforated the skin and drew blood. "Give it up, Bra! You drugged me, and you slept with me! I don't care _why_ you did it! I don't even care why you kept telling me you were Bulma! I care that you _did it_, and I _know _that you did it. I could smell you all over myself the next day!"_

_Bra felt her heart skip a beat. 'Idiot!' her mind screamed. 'Why the hell didn't I think of that? Of course Saiyans have a heightened sense of smell! I knew that! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'_

_Bra advanced upon Goku and prodded him in the chest with her index finger. "If you tell a soul," she hissed venomously, "I will deny it! I will tell them you took advantage of me! I will tell them that you raped me!"_

_Goku didn't so much a blink. "Do it!" he said, crossing his arms indignantly. "I don't care if you lie. Either way, I am going to tell everyone what happened in my book. It doesn't matter whether or not they believe me. I will have gotten this off of my chest. I know that I am telling the truth!"_

_Bra suddenly knew that Goku wasn't fibbing. Goku was a goody-too-shoos. She was surprised he'd never told a soul about his fling with Bulma. It was unlike him. He must really love Bulma to be able to lie for her. _

"_You think you're so good, so high and mighty! How self-righteous are you? So you don't care if they think you raped me, huh? Well, Goku, I'm smarter than you are! I know that you won't tell a soul because I have something really dirty on you! I know who you really are! You're a filthy sinner like the rest of us, you pompous fool!" Bra pulled out her desk drawer and tossed him an mp3 player and some ear buds. _

"_Listen to it," she commanded with a self-satisfied smirk._

_She sat down in her desk chair and crossed her legs together comfortably. 'That's right, Goku. You aren't going to be ruining my hopes and dreams,' she thought smugly._

_Goku didn't listen to the whole clip. He ripped the ear buds out of his ears and tossed them at the floor like they were tiny snakes trying to constrict his neck. He look absolutely horrified. _

"_You certainly sounded like you were enjoying it, Goku," Bra said with a smile. She was suddenly confident of being the one to rise victoriously from this fight. _

_Goku looked appalled and very confused. "What are you?" he asked earnestly. _

_Bra could suddenly picture Goku with a rope of garlic around his neck, making a cross with his two forefingers. 'He thinks I'm a demon or something,' she thought with slight amusement. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh shut up, would ya'. Here's how it's going to be: I'll keep my mouth shut, if you keep your mouth shut." Bra laughed and said, "See, it's a win-win situation! I won't get in trouble. You won't be shunned by your family and friends for the rest of your life. Oh, and I was even nice enough to relieve you of your male 'needs'. Kami knows, ChiChi doesn't put out. That must be why you fantasize about my dear Mother, because your old woman is a prude!"_

_Goku's face turned a crimson red, and he practically seethed in anger. "Shut your trap! You have no idea what you're talking about!" he snapped._

_Bra laughed again. She was actually enjoying herself. In fact, it was pleasing for her to watch his surmounting horror and affliction. It was like getting revenge against her Mother for all of her misdeeds. She was hurting her Mother's love. And Goku, he certainly wasn't innocent in all of this either. He deserved this – she told herself. _

"_So, if you value your integrity, you will keep your mouth shut about all of this," Bra said with a blasé tone of voice. _

_Goku clenched the mp3 player in his fist and smashed it to smithereens. "Like hell I will!" he yelled._

_Bra smirked, "Tsk… tsk… tsk… that thing costs money you know! Besides, are you really dumb enough to believe I hadn't already made a copy of that little evidence?"_

_~To Be Continued~_


	11. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own DB/Z/GT.

* * *

**Bra Briefs' Mom has Got it Going On**

_**Epilogue: The Apple Don't Fall Far**_

"_I __may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." – Douglas Adams_

Bra casually flipped through her notebook to the page containing her heart doodles. She aimlessly traced the scarlet ink lines with her fingers. The paper felt cool against her skin. It was kind of relaxing in an unexpected way.

"I didn't mean to drag Goku into all of this. To be perfectly honest, I kind of like the guy." Bra smiled knowingly, "No really, I do. It's a big compliment for me to say that about just anybody. Anyway, how was I to know he'd remember things? I would have never guessed he'd take matters into his own hands."

Bra traced her fingertip atop Goten's inscribed name. "It even surprised me how much I enjoyed making him suffer, seriously, it did! I guess a part of me wanted to stick it to my Mom. Another part of me wanted to make Goku atone for his injustice against my Daddy. Whether or not Daddy admits it, he thinks of Goku as his friend… possibly the closest friend he has ever had. So, you have to understand why I felt the need to hurt him. I really wanted to deck him in the face, but I'm no match for Goku when it comes to brawn. I had to use what was at my disposal."

_Continuation of the Day After Bra Returned from Pelican Isle:_

_Goku frowned upon Bra. He had frowned at her many times upon his arrival today, but this frown was different; it chiseled away at Bra's nerves. It made her angry. It had a sanctimonious feel to it. She disliked how morally upright he _usually_ was. In fact, the characteristics she liked about him were his little flaws that nobody else seemed to notice. His faults reminded her that everyone is capable of becoming the same, imperfect being when it comes down to it – this was comforting to her. But his overwhelming goodness – to her – was just sickening. _

"_Oh stop giving me that holier-than-thou look. You are _far_ from innocent," Bra finally snapped._

_Goku ignored her bout of anger. "If you think that recording is going to prevent me from telling the truth, then you're just delusional," he stated as calmly as he could muster._

"_Oh really? I think you're bluffing," Bra replied with a dry laugh. "You see, I know a lot more than I put on. I know all about you and my Mother. I know that a couple decades ago, the two of you had a fling. I don't know how often you cheated, and I really don't care. The fact is, you did it, and I have proof of it on the recording I took. You clearly admit on it that the two of you have had sex before."_

_Goku blanched and his eyebrows furrowed together in frustration. He was under the pretense that Bra only knew that he was attracted to Bulma. He thought she was trying to get him to admit his feelings. He had no clue she actually knew they'd hooked up before. _

_Goku gulped before replying, "I suppose it's a sign then."_

_Bra irritatedly stomped her foot on the ground. There was a crisp edge to her voice when she said, "You're damn right it is! I've got you cornered you numbskull!" _

_Goku shook his head solemnly and said, "No… you don't understand. It's a sign that I need to come out with the truth – the full truth."_

_Bra let out an unladylike growl of displeasure. "Come on!" she shouted with obvious frustration, "you have got to be kidding me! No! You are not going to utter a word of this!" _

_Goku quirked an eyebrow in amusement despite his situation. "I don't take orders from spoiled little girls. Bulma and Vegeta deserve to know about what you've been up to as well. I know that I am in no position to talk, but I have to say, Bra, that I'm _very_ disappointed in you! The way you've been acting… is completely ridiculous!" _

_There was _nothing_ that annoyed Bra more than to be treated like a child! As far as she was concerned, she had reached adulthood long ago. Her body had just recently caught up with her mind. She was 18 now, a bona fide adult. She was not going to put up with this any longer!_

_Bra's facial expression became very serious. "Alright, Goku, enough with this nonsense. I'm going to tell you exactly why you are going to keep your trap shut! You will not tell a soul about any of this because if you do, ChiChi will hate you. She will leave you. She's a tough bitch. She won't put up with this!"_

"_Don't you ever call ChiChi a bitch!" Goku shouted._

"_I'll call her whatever I damn-well-please!" Bra argued, crossing her arms indignantly. _

"_Gohan… Goten… Pan… they will all resent you for the rest of your life! The sad part is: you'll outlive them, so you will have one miserable life." Bra smiled, her mood began to uplift itself almost instantly. "Vegeta will hate your guts! You've worked so hard to form a bond with him and then you just went and screwed the pooch like it was nothing! He will _never_ forgive you! None of your friends will ever look at you the same!" _

_Goku just gazed at her forlornly. "And I'd deserve it too," he stated bluntly. _

_Bra's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. 'Nothing gets through his thick skull, does it?' she thought angrily. "You would be betraying Bulma's trust. She would go through exactly what you'd be going through… only… it would be worse for her! You see, she would be frowned upon even more than you because you eventually came out with the truth. She was just going to let it sit and fester for the rest of her accursed life!"_

_Bra laughed giddily. She could actually _see _Goku's resolve crumbling into a pretend pile on the floor. She was suddenly elated. She was winning! She had one last card to pull out of her deck, her trump card, so to speak._

_Bra hopped lightly onto her feet and walked up to Goku. She tiptoed to come closer to reaching his height and rested the palms of her hands on his shoulders. She smirked as she felt him shudder when they made contact. Her face was now not even an inch away from his own. She could detect the faint tang of ginger lingering on his breath as it traveled up her nostrils. _

_Her devilish grin parted and she spoke softly, "There's one last thing I've failed to mention. You will break Goten's heart, you see, he's madly in love with me. Oh… wait, I have something else to say…" She brought her lips up to his ear in an almost tantalizing way. She could feel his hands reach up to claw her hold off of his shoulders._

_Before he could shove her away, she had already managed to whisper something significant into his ear. He took pause. His mouth hung agape. She took advantage of his lapse in defense, and she finished what she had to say. She pulled back from him. She looked into his eyes. They were glazed over in shock. _

"_Oh, don't look so glum," she said teasingly. "You should be happy for us." _

_Goku's lips trembled as he asked, "Why? Why Bra? Why did you do this?"_

_Bra feigned a look of surprise. "Why? For Goten, silly. I love him! I would do anything for him!"_

_Goku narrowed his eyes as the pieces of the puzzle formed together in his head. He could finally see the whole picture now. "Right," he muttered, "it sounds more like you would do anything to have him all to yourself." _

_Bra didn't like to be corrected. Besides, she'd never actually said otherwise. She placed her hands on her hips. "You're damn right!" she replied. _

_Goku took on a genuinely worried expression, and despite all that she had done, he begged for her own well-being, "Please, Bra… reconsider! No boy is worth all of this, and I have a feeling this won't end well for you," he warned. _

_Bra rolled her eyes at him. "You've lost; I've won. Accept defeat. Just leave, Goku."_

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

_Bulma Briefs' POV-_

_The Night Before the Z-Fighter's Reunion:_

_Bulma could hear a commotion echoing upstairs from the front foyer. She had told herself she was going to lead a new life now. She had told herself that she would finally be free. She would not allow herself to even so much as think of Goku. In the meantime, cutting ties with Goten had been easy; she didn't even miss a beat when he came over to visit Trunks._

_They would pass each other in the hallway and she would smile and say, "Hi Goten."_

_Goten would smile that lovely smile of his and would reply, "Hi!"_

"_So… how's your Mother doing?" she would continue. It was as if there had been zero history between the two of them._

_The only problem was that Bulma could not stop thinking about Vegeta. She chalked it up to missed opportunities to think about him – all of the times she had been thinking of someone else. As of late, Bulma had been holed up in either her bedroom or her laboratory. When she was alone, her thoughts always returned to him. Where was he right now? Would he ever come back? Did he hate her? Her children had no-doubt noticed her long absences by now. She didn't think that Bra cared much. Bra never really paid her any mind to begin with. _

_Bulma stood at the foot of the stairs, wondering if she should venture out of obscurity. She knew that she'd been brooding over her mistakes long enough. She knew that Bra wouldn't care, and – being vanished and all – Vegeta wouldn't care. The only person who would care would be Trunks. She decided to move forward, for Trunks' sake. Their family needed some bit of normalcy, didn't it?_

_Bulma jogged down the stairs and into the front entrance. Whoever had made the commotion had moved. The clamor was now coming from the parlor. As Bulma walked through the entrance, she called out, "Hey Trunks, what's going - " Bulma's breath instantaneously hitched in her throat. She froze midstride. _

_Bra was standing in the center of the room with her arms locked around Vegeta in a loving embrace and was now turning toward Bulma, appraising her reaction with an arched eyebrow. Vegeta turned toward Bulma with an unreadable expression. The embrace broke apart, and Vegeta immediately took to crossing his arms. Bra ignored Bulma and imitated Vegeta's actions. Bulma could only think of one thing. 'Vegeta came home!'_

_Bra huffed and said, "So, Daddy… a few weeks, eh? It sure didn't seem like a few weeks to me!"_

_Vegeta looked taken aback. There was something about Bra that never ceased to blindside him. Whenever she was blunt, or tempestuous, or snarky, or rough, or just plain mean – he was caught off guard. In his mind, Bra was his sweet little girl. His Bra didn't have an attitude like her Mother. She didn't make snarky comments. She didn't have his discourteous mannerisms. His Bra was more akin to a saint or an angel._

_So, when she said what she said with a sardonic and annoyed sounding voice, Vegeta just assumed that it was his fault. "I'm sorry Bra," he said genuinely. It wasn't over the top, but he meant it._

_Bulma had to double-take what she had just witnessed. In all her years of living with Vegeta, she could not once remember him apologizing. It surprised her how easy it came to him when he was apologizing to Bra. Her heart melted and she thought, 'He has to be her Father!'_

_Bra pointed an accusatory finger at Vegeta. "You better not do that to me again!" she commanded. "I missed you, and I was worried!" _

"_I won't," he replied calmly. _

_Bra finally warmed up. She smiled and said, "Good!"_

_Vegeta's gaze returned to Bulma. His face _seemed_ impassive, but she knew him better than that. She knew that Vegeta could be at his most lethal when his expression was deadpan. _

"_I need to speak to your Mother," he said bluntly._

_Bra glanced over at Bulma with her eyebrows drawn together in curiosity. She narrowed her eyes at her Mother speculatively, as if to say, "Oh, what have you done now?"_

_Nevertheless, Bra recognized Vegeta's implication, and she left the room. Her eyes bore into Bulma as she approached the door and Bulma's heart was startled by the cool wall of air that hammered into her body as Bra briskly walked by. A shiver raked through her being._

_Vegeta appeared instantly in front of her. She hadn't seen him move an inch. He was just suddenly there. His arm extended toward her. Her heart palpitated in her chest. His hand came close to her face and she shut her eyes with nervous anticipation. She heard a clicking sound and realized instantly that he had merely reached over her shoulder to shut the door. She opened her eyes just in time to witness his arm retracting back to his side. _

"_You came back," she muttered dumbly._

_He regarded her with a cool expression. "Obviously."_

"_I'm glad that you came back for them. You're a good Father, Vegeta," she replied sincerely. _

"_I came back for a number of reasons," he replied. _

_Bulma furrowed her eyebrows together in befuddlement. "Such as…?"_

_Vegeta scowled at her. When he didn't want to speak, it was like talking to a brick wall._

"_Vegeta… please tell me," she begged._

_Vegeta grunted and glanced off to the side. "I will _never_ forgive you," he hissed between clenched teeth._

_Bulma felt as if something was clawing a hole through her ribcage, it was squeezing her heart. It felt as if it might burst at any second. She didn't know if she was ready to hear this again. "I understand," she replied._

"_I don't understand you," he said, as if this explained it all. "I've tried countless times."_

"_I don't understand myself half the time," she replied truthfully._

_Vegeta turned to look her in the eyes again. "I even began making up excuses for you. Me! Making up excuses for _you_! How pathetic is that?"_

_Bulma didn't even remember thinking about her next words, they simply flew out of her mouth. "Then don't! I don't have an excuse!"_

_Vegeta ignored her. "I could not get the thoughts of you out of my accursed mind!" he suddenly shouted. "I couldn't bring it upon myself to hate you… to even _dislike _you!"_

"_You couldn't?" Bulma mouthed silently in astonishment._

"_Why should I force myself to hate you anyway? After all, I've done way worse than you have," Vegeta muttered more to himself than to her._

"_What do you mean?" Bulma asked dumbfoundedly._

_Vegeta glared at Bulma bitterly. "Oh, don't play dumb! I can never atone for the atrocities I've dealt! Why should I judge you for cheating on me when I killed your bandit boyfriend, when I threatened to destroy every person you knew and loved? Hell, I even tried to kill your lover!"_

_Bulma winced as he said the word 'lover'. She felt as if she had been branded._

_Vegeta shook his head in disbelief. "Then there was that time that I let Babidi control my mind. I killed more innocent people. I nearly killed you as well! I did it all without even blinking an eye! I cared more about surpassing Kakarrot than I did your safety! And you… you didn't even get angry, you didn't even question me about it! You just let it slide, as if nothing had happened at all!"_

"_I forgive you for that," Bulma said softly._

"_I didn't ask for forgiveness!" Vegeta suddenly roared. "So why should I forgive you? Why should you go scot free?" Vegeta shook his head vehemently. "No, I will not forgive you!"_

_Bulma struggled to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. "I'm not asking for forgiveness anymore." _

_Vegeta ran the palm of his hand over his face with apparent agitation. He combed his calloused fingers through his spiky hair. "You're going to tell _everyone_ the truth."_

_Bulma shuddered. She'd been half-expecting this. She was afraid of this. She had no choice but to say, "Alright."_

"_You will tell them tomorrow at the reunion," he commanded._

_Bulma's lips trembled and she whispered, "Okay."_

"_And I…" Vegeta muttered gutturally. He clenched his fist and his aura began to burst into existence. The look of rage on his face was insurmountable. He could barely contain himself. "I will _kill_ Kakarrot for what he has done!" _

_Bulma gasped and the tears finally escaped her glossy eyes. "No!" she shouted, grabbing a hold of Vegeta's arm. He shoved her away and she fell flat on her butt. Her hands tingled. They felt as if they'd been burned. "Please, don't! He didn't know what he was doing! It was _my _fault!"_

_Vegeta gritted his teeth and his aura exploded even more. It began to turn golden. He was on the cusp of turning Super Saiyan. "Like hell he didn't know what he was going! He knew how you felt! He took advantage you!"_

"_No… it's the other way around… he would never…" Bulma blubbered._

"_He _did_!" Vegeta spat. "He will pay! Who do you want, me or him?"_

"_Y – you!" she clamored. "You don't need to do this!"_

"_Oh, but I do," he hissed. "You are mine damn-it! He will not have you anymore! I will see to it personally."_

_~End Flashback~_

_The Day of the Z-Fighter's Reunion: _

_The day Bulma had met Vegeta for the first time, she knew instantly that he was a dangerous man. He had power. He had anger. He had hate, and scorn, and impudence. His birth-name should have been 'toxic', because that's what he was back then. Bulma was driven to men that could hurt her in some way or another. She couldn't hold back from them. She loved Yamcha, the scruffy desert bandit – the cheater. She loved Goku, the taken man. She loved Vegeta, the ruthless Saiyan warrior. It was like she was cursed to have difficult, if not, impossible relationships._

_Over the years, Vegeta had molded himself to fit into _her _world. It had taken him time – as was expected, but he became what she needed him to be. He became the loving husband and the devoted Father. He behaved himself, but she never forgot what was buried beneath. She knew what he could be if provoked. She had no one to blame but herself. She had wrought this upon herself. _

_The reunion was held on Mt. Paozu near the Son homes. She traveled to the reunion by airplane. Bra had come with her, while Trunks decided to fly to it himself with Vegeta no-doubt._

"_So," began Bra, "what were you and Dad fighting about?"_

"_Nothing important," Bulma replied. 'She's going to find out soon enough anyway.'_

_Bra crossed her arms and huffed. She gazed out the window, lost in her own thoughts._

_When Bulma and Bra got out of the plane and it was capsulized, the first thing Bulma did was search for him – Goku._

'_I will not let Vegeta kill him,' she thought as she scoped out the crowd. Her eyes detected him by the table with all of the food, of course. She rushed through the crowd of her friends, not even bothering to return their greetings and smiles._

_Goku saw her coming and he glanced around his perimeter as if to make sure she was really approaching him. "Hi Bulma," he said with a smile and wave._

_Bulma frowned. Why did it always seem so easy for him? She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You need to get out of here, now!"_

_Goku laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "What?"_

"_Vegeta knows. You need to leave!" Bulma continued with a stern voice._

"_Wh – what?" he mumbled, his face becoming very pallid. His eyes glanced beyond her shoulder and they widened in shock. His whole body tensed._

_Bulma was roughly grabbed by the shoulder and dragged backward. She stumbled. If that someone hadn't been holding her arm steadily, she would have taken a fall. She looked up to see who the intruder was and she suddenly felt nauseous with fright. It was Vegeta. His fingers were digging into her arm, holding her back. He was standing in front of her like a barrier of muscle between herself and Goku. _

"_Kakarrot, you and I have a score to settle," he hissed._

"_Alright," Goku replied levelheadedly, "but not right here, Vegeta. I don't want to scare anyone." _

_The tension clung to the air like static on a rug. Vegeta's ki began to waver. Bulma couldn't feel it for herself, but by the look on his face, she knew that he was losing control. She clutched his arm with her free hand. _

"_Please don't," she whispered._

_She could feel the tendons in his forearm contract. His muscles bulged. "No Kakarrot, right here, right now, I am going to teach you what happens when you dare to touch _my _woman." _

_Bra unexpectedly appeared between the two men. She had cut the tension like a knife on butter. "Hey, Goku, Daddy, I know you guys are itching for a spar and all, but Goten has an important announcement to make!"_

"_It will have to wait," Vegeta replied._

_Bra flippantly waved her hand at him. "Oh no you don't! You owe me one, remember?"_

_He'd never actually admitted to owing her for leaving longer than he'd anticipated, but she had a point. He also loved her dearly and didn't want to upset her anymore than he was already about to do in a moment or so. Bulma held her breath. What was Bra up to? Her intervention was perfectly timed, as if she had been watching at the sidelines. Had she heard what Vegeta had said?_

_Bra smiled knowingly at Goku and stressed her point: "It's _really_ important!" _

_Vegeta sighed heavily and grumbled, "Alright." _

_Bulma suddenly had a really bad feeling about all of this. Bra met with Goten in the center of the crowd. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She rubbed his bicep to give him courage, and then she picked up an empty wineglass and a spoon. She clanked it on the glass three times. _

_This caught everyone's attention. Bulma inched her way to the front of the crowd. She halted directly in Bra's line of sight. She could feel Vegeta standing close behind her. His body heat radiated off of his chest and onto her back. It was like a constant reminder that he had his eye on her. _

"_Goten has something really important to say," Bra announced. She then glanced expectantly at Goten._

_Goten cleared his throat. "Hi everybody!" he said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "I have some really important news to announce!"_

"_Stop beating around the bush!" Krillin hollered out. "Let's hear it already!"_

_Goten laughed nervously and his face flushed as red as a beet. "You see, Bra and I are in love and we are going to get married." _

_Bulma couldn't believe her ears; they must not have been functioning correctly. She could have sworn she had just heard Goten say that he and her daughter were tying the knot! Apparently, she wasn't the only one who couldn't believe what their senses were telling them. There was a litter of gasps and utterances of shock throughout the entire group._

_Bulma felt hands rest on her shoulders, and she was suddenly reminded of Vegeta's presence. He brought his mouth up to her ear and he whispered, "Did you know about this?"_

_She was surprised by the level of calm he was presenting. She would have guessed that upon hearing such news, he would sprout fangs and go straight for Goten's jugular, but instead he was so collected. But then again, he had nothing to worry about. She was about to drop a brick on all of their heads. She had to tell the truth, and then there would certainly be no marriage after the truth was known._

"_Of course not!" she replied._

"_Daddy?" Bra suddenly spoke up. "You're being so quiet. Is something the matter?"_

"_Yes, Bra," he said, "your Mother has something she needs to say."_

_Bulma's face became ashen and sickly looking. She realized that she wasn't ready for this! She didn't think that she could do this! She turned to look back at Vegeta. Her eyes begged him to stop. She looked frantic. "I – I can't!" she whispered._

_Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her. "You will."_

"_Wait! We aren't finished yet. We still have something to tell you guys," Bra piped in._

"_What is it?" Bulma asked, silently thinking, 'Does she know about me and Goten? No… that's impossible!' _

_Bra smiled and said, "Goten and I are going to be parents."_

_Vegeta suddenly lost his cool. "What!" he roared._

"_I'm pregnant," she said._

_Vegeta lifted Bulma up and set her aside like an inanimate object. He stomped over to where Goten and Bra were standing._

"_Why you little son of a – " Vegeta shouted, raising his fist as he spoke._

_Bra's eyes widened in alarm and she abruptly moved between her Father and Goten. She held her arms out at her sides as a protective shield. _

"_No, Daddy! Don't be this way! I love Goten with all of my heart! I know it seems sudden, but we're happy together! We're ready to become a family. I know it's hard to let go, but I'm ready to grow up. Please don't hurt him, Daddy. He makes me happy!" _

_Vegeta's scowl softened and he muttered, "He makes you… happy?" as if he didn't understand the possibility of such a thing._

_Bra held Vegeta's hands in hers and she smiled the most gorgeous smile. Her eyes glistened as tears of happiness made their descent down her rosy cheeks. "He makes me happier than I've ever been," she whispered. "Please, give us your blessing!"_

_Vegeta had a troubled expression on his face. Bulma could tell that he was flustered. This was a lot to take in by itself, let alone everything else he had to worry about. _

_Vegeta finally yielded. "You have my blessing," he said. He pointed at Goten and narrowed his eyes while he warned, "If you ever do anything to hurt her, I will deal you a slow and torturous death! Do you understand?"_

_Goten gulped and nodded his head vigorously. "Y – yes, sir!"_

_A part of Bulma felt really proud of Vegeta. He cared more about Bra's feelings than his own ego, and that was saying something. She knew it must be killing him to think that Bra was going to marry Goten – Goten, the man his wife had laid with, the son of Goku. _

_Bulma glanced at Bra and was startled to see her staring back at her expectantly. Bra's gaze was critical despite the fact that Vegeta had just given his blessing to her. It was as if she was searching for something and couldn't find it. She was staring straight at Bulma. Bulma was disconcerted. A firestorm of conflicting emotions burst forth in her mind. Didn't Vegeta want her to tell the truth? Why would he give Goten his blessing when he knew there was a possibility that Goten was Bra's half-brother? Bulma felt sick to her stomach. This was all her fault after all, wasn't it? _

_Bulma didn't know what to do or say. Bra was still staring at her with that inscrutable gaze. Bulma forced herself to crack a smile. She walked up to Bra saying, "I'm so happy for you honey!"_

_Bulma outstretched her arms to give her daughter a hug. She was startled to see Bra raising a quizzical eyebrow at her. She looked confused and oddly disappointed. 'What was she expecting…" Bulma thought momentarily, "a different reaction?"_

_Bra blinked and suddenly, it was as if she was a totally new person. Her lips tugged upward into a grin, even her eyes were smiling. It was all happening so quickly, Bulma couldn't help but wonder if Bra was being fake. Bra pulled her dumbstruck Mother into her embrace. It didn't feel like the hugs she received from her son. It wasn't warm. Bra's entire body was tense as if she were on edge about something. Her head was turned away from Bulma's as if she smelled something rancid. 'Does she really hate me?' Bulma thought._

"_I am _so _happy for you," Bulma said earnestly. "I love you, baby girl. I wish you and Goten the best."_

_Bra didn't even smile. _

_After the commotion had winded down, Bulma detected Vegeta approaching Goku again. She didn't understand what he was up to. Was he still planning on confronting Goku? If he was, this could turn ugly really fast! This could ruin it for Bra and Goten. 'What are you thinking, Vegeta?'_

_She watched the two men make a silent exchange, and she observed them slink away from the rest of the crowd and into the forestation of Mt. Paozu. She glanced around anxiously to make sure that nobody was watching her, and she disappeared after them. Once she was within the barrier of the woods, she sprinted into a dead-run. _

_Bulma had no clue where her restless feet were carrying her. Her eyes searched for snapped branches and shoe indentations in the dirt and leaves, but she couldn't find any. When Saiyans didn't want to be found, they could be very illusive. Despite how livid Vegeta must feel, he was still being careful, which lead Bulma to believe that he didn't want Bra finding out about this._

_With a deal of great luck, Bulma was able to find them. Vegeta was in the middle of a tirade. He was too overwhelmed to have even noticed Bulma's arrival. Goku did, he was facing Bulma. He quickly shot her a concerned look, but glanced away almost instantly, so as not to bring attention toward her._

"_Did you seriously think that you could fuck my mate and get away with it?" Vegeta was shouting._

_Goku waved the palms of his hands in front of his face like white flags. "Vegeta, you don't understand!"_

"_Really, Kakarrot? Do you really think so? I understand that you're aware of my mate's feelings for you. I understand that you seduced her and fucked her and then tossed her aside like a ragdoll!" Vegeta spat._

"_No! It wasn't like that!" Goku protested. "I would never use Bulma like that! I love Bulma!" _

_Bulma had inched her way closer to Vegeta without even noticing it herself. She could see the tiny hairs on the back of his neck bristle up. His fists were clenched and the air around his body was becoming turbulent. She couldn't entirely follow what happened next. One moment, she was only a few feet away from Vegeta, the next she was staring at an afterimage. There was a smacking sound that resonated throughout the area like a clap of thunder. She could just barely perceive a grunt, followed a by sickening thump as a large mass hit the earth._

_Her eyes flitted over to where Goku had been standing only moments before. Vegeta was now standing in his place. He was towered over Goku, who was currently on the ground, grumbling as he rubbed his soar, bleeding nose. Surely he must have seen it coming, but he didn't move an inch. He just allowed Vegeta to floor him. _

_Bulma failed at stifling her outcry of shock. Without a doubt Vegeta was aware of her presence by now, but he didn't allude to it. _

"_Did that make you feel any better?" Goku asked with a slight frown. "If it did, then go ahead and hit me again. Hit me as hard as you can!" Goku pointed at his jaw line. "Hit me, but don't take it out on Bulma."_

_Vegeta smirked. "As a matter of fact, it did," he replied, swiftly kicking Goku in the face with his boot. _

_Bulma shrieked as she saw the blood spurt forth from his mouth. "St – stop!" _

_Goku clenched his bloodied teeth and with great resolve, he withheld himself from uttering a cry of pain. Blood oozed over his lips, slipped down his chin, and dripped onto the dirt. He stared down at the small puddle and shook his head solemnly as if he didn't get it. _

_Vegeta laughed sardonically and asked, "Was it not enough for you to steal my birthright from me?"_

"_Vegeta… I thought you'd finally come to terms with that…" Goku muttered with a look of disapproval._

_Vegeta's huffed and his nostrils flared. "Come to terms with it? Come to _terms with it_?" he said in disbelief, the tone of his voice rising in a crescendo of volume. "When have you _ever_ had to come to terms with something, hmm? It's not as fucking easy as it sounds! I am a full-blooded Saiyan Prince! You are a mere joke! You weren't the one who witnessed your rival surpass you in strength! You weren't the one who could never – no matter how fucking hard you trained your body and mind – surpass him! You weren't the one who lost his destiny to a 3__rd__ class piece of scum! Ha! You've even saved my life as if I were a defenseless, fragile child!" Vegeta kicked the dirt with his boot. A cloud of dust wafted into the air and Goku had a sudden coughing fit. "You don't know what it's like to take a blow like that! You don't know what it's like to have your pride and honor stomped on as if it were nothing!"_

_Goku wiped his mouth with his forearm and he cleared his throat. "So we're back to square one again, is that what you're telling me, Vegeta?" Goku inquired._

_Vegeta scowled at Goku with contempt. "That is not what I'm saying at all! I will never be okay with the fact that you are stronger than me! I will never stop trying to surpass you! I accept that you are stronger than me; it doesn't mean that I have to like it! No… I simply want to know why you had to go beyond that." _

_Goku appeared puzzled. "Beyond?"_

"_Did you really feel the need to take _everything _from me, _everything_ I've ever worked for?" Vegeta screamed._

"_I don't… understand…" Goku murmured, "Bulma isn't leaving you for me." _

"_I'm not just talking about _Bulma_!" Vegeta snapped._

_Goku frowned and tilted his head, appearing entirely perplexed. "Then what are you talking about?"_

_Vegeta's eyebrow twitched. "You don't…" he muttered in disbelief. Vegeta swiftly turned on heel and stomped over to where Bulma was standing. He brought his face in close proximity to hers. "He doesn't know?" he asked with a raspy whisper. _

"_No," Bulma replied._

_Vegeta didn't turn back to Goku, but his next words were thunderously loud and they were directed at him: "I should have killed you." He said this as if it were possible despite having admitted his inability to do so only moments earlier._

_Goku didn't reply. There was only silence. Vegeta explained himself: "But if I did, it would upset Goten, and that would in-turn make Bra upset. I wouldn't like that." _

_Vegeta began to walk away. "C'mon woman," he muttered. Bulma was startled for a moment. She glanced back at Goku. His face was all torn up. He could have a concussion. She didn't want to leave him like this…_

_Vegeta sensed her lack of mobility, turned around, and roughly grabbed her by her bicep, nearly dragging her behind him. "Oh, and Kakarrot, know that if I ever see you anywhere near my family again, you will be a dead man."_

_Once Vegeta and Bulma were out of earshot, Bulma spoke up, "I thought you wanted me to tell everyone the truth. I get that you don't want me to see Goku ever again, but I just missed my opportunity to tell him the truth."_

_Vegeta swiftly snapped a tree branch that was in his way. It now hung limply by a few bristles of wood. "I've changed my mind."_

"_You changed your mind…" she muttered in disbelief. _

"_What, are you deaf?" Vegeta spat._

"_Clarify what you mean by 'you've changed your mind'," Bulma replied._

"_You aren't going to tell anybody what happened," he stated plainly._

"_Huh?" Bulma exclaimed, losing concentration and tripping over a tree root._

"_Nobody can know what happened between you and him because they will be able to draw conclusions. Not everyone is a dolt like him," Vegeta explained in a matter-of-fact tone of voice._

"_He made connections Vegeta. He asked me if Bra was his daughter when he found out I was pregnant with her. I lied to him. I told him that she wasn't conceived until a week later. I even offered to get an amniocentesis to prove it to him. He trusted me, so he let it go."_

"_Bra could be his, there's a chance you wouldn't be able to prove it to him anyway," Vegeta said with a grated sounding voice. His anger was beginning to flare again._

"_I was going to alter the results if that were the case. It's not as hard as it seems," Bulma replied, feeling as low as the dirt on her shoes. 'When did I ever get that desperate and manipulative?' she thought dismally. _

"_I guess lying comes easy to you, doesn't it?" Vegeta grumbled._

"_I suppose it does," Bulma replied truthfully, ignoring the connotation hidden in his words. "Now, why the change of heart, Vegeta?"_

"_I am not losing Bra. I am not going to let you wound her like you did me. I don't want her to think differently of you. I don't want to snatch away her happiness. If she really loves that brat, then I am not going to take him from her," Vegeta replied. "I have a lot of reasons." _

_Bulma frowned. "That's very sweet of you, Vegeta, but if she's is _his_ offspring, then that would make Bra's and Goten's relationship incestuous. That would make their baby inbred." _

"_And whose fault is that?" Vegeta suddenly snapped. "It is all yours! If you had told the truth from the start, then none of this would have happened! I refuse to make her suffer the consequences of your actions! So what if they're half-siblings? They've already done the worst they could possibly do! She's already pregnant with his brat, woman! What happens happens. If the child is born with 15 eyes and 5 legs, then we know who to blame, don't we?" _

"_That won't happen, Vegeta," said Bulma. "So, does this mean that you're just going to let this continue on like nothing is out of the ordinary? Shouldn't we at least get a paternity test for Bra so we know the truth? Doesn't she deserve to know the truth?"_

_Vegeta laughed scathingly. "Didn't she deserve to know the truth 18 years ago when she was born? Didn't I deserve to know the truth when you were pregnant with her?"_

"_Yes…" Bulma mumbled. _

"_Right, so we're just going to follow your motto, 'what they don't know won't hurt 'em'," Vegeta said sarcastically._

"_Vegeta…" Bulma whispered with worry evident in her voice._

"_Now, I myself am a pretty damn good fibber. You're only mediocre. You told me the truth of what happened eventually… you will not slip again, understand?" Vegeta questioned, turning his head to look straight into her eyes. Bulma feebly nodded her head._

" _Good, now let's join Bra and Goten and give them our _sincere _approval," Vegeta said sarcastically, "and to think… I thought I was going to be a bad influence on _you_! Ha!" _

_~End Flashback~_

* * *

Bra Briefs' POV-

Bra drummed her fingers atop her open notebook, appearing absolutely bored. "Remember…" she muttered suddenly, "remember how I told you that there was something that I had left out of the story? Remember how I told you that I was running out of time?"

Bra smiled and laughed a cynical sounding laugh. "Do you also remember how I got interrupted by the doorbell ringing, how I answered it and was met by Goten? Do you remember how he unexpectedly professed his love for me? Well, that problem I was having… I solved it right then and there."

Bra laughed again. "I bet you're really confused right about now. Let me first start off by telling you that karma is a bitch. Secondly, allow me to explain myself:"

_Continuation of the Day After Bra Returned from Pelican Isle:_

"_Please, Bra… reconsider!" Goku pleaded. "No boy is worth all of this, and I have a feeling this won't end well for you,"_

_Bra rolled her eyes at him. "You've lost; I've won. Accept defeat. Just leave, Goku."_

_Goku frowned and said, "Not until I've heard the whole truth. Bra, you just told me you're pregnant. How long have you been pregnant?"_

_Bra scoffed at him. "A couple of days."_

"_Are you sure?" he asked. _

'_Damn-it!' she thought. 'I knew he was going to bring this up!' "I'm positive. The baby isn't yours, if that's what you're thinking in that little, pea-brain of yours."_

"_How can I know that you aren't lying to me?" Goku prodded._

_Bra crossed her arms and huffed. "Fine! Be that way! I'm telling you right now that I'm 100% positive that the kid isn't yours, but if you refuse to believe me, I can prove it in a couple of months."_

"_What do you mean?" he asked._

"_In a couple of months, I can get an amnio. It'll show that Goten is the Father, I'm certain of that. I wasn't going to do it, but if it will shut you up, I will," Bra said._

"_Wouldn't that risk harming the baby?" Goku asked with a concerned sounding voice._

_Bra laughed. "I guess so, but it's pretty rare that it does."_

"_Maybe you should wait until it's born," Goku suggested._

"_Nah…" Bra replied dismissively, "I want you off my case as soon as possible."_

_~End Flashback~_

"I know what you're thinking," Bra declared. "You're thinking that I lied to Goku. You're thinking that the baby is his. In any case, if you weren't thinking that, you're probably missing a few brain cells. The thing is… my 'alibi' isn't tight. I told Goku that my baby was conceived a few days before his arrival to confront me, but I didn't have sex with Goten until just the day before. I couldn't have known I was pregnant in just one day. So technically, if he were to go and ask Goten, 'So when did you and Bra first hook-up?' I could be royally screwed!" Bra shrugged her shoulders and said, "But I'm not worried about it. I mean, what are the chances of _that_ happening?"

"So yeah, Goku's my baby daddy. How weird does that sound? I told Goten that I was pregnant with _his _child a few days ago. He was shocked at first, but I think he kind of likes the idea of having a kid with me. He did the admirable thing and asked for my hand." Bra smiled and flipped to a page in her notebook filled with 'Mrs. Goten Son'. "I accepted of course! Then long-story short, we announced it at the reunion. My Daddy had a cow! Oh! I guess that I forgot to mention he came back the night before the reunion. It was really weird. He and my Mom got in a fight about something, but neither of them has said anything about it since then."

Bra rested an index finger on her chin with a thoughtful expression upon her face. "Come to think of it, they've been acting kind of funny lately. My Dad has really been acting out of sorts. He's especially temperamental when Mom leaves the house to go grocery shopping or something. It's almost as if… he knows that she's cheated on him." Bra laughed and shook her head in disbelief. "Nah… my Mom's the ice queen. She would never spill the beans to him! My poor Daddy… I guess he'll never know what a lying, cheating, bitch she really is!"

"Oh, and speaking of the lying, cheating, bitch… I was really disappointed by her reaction to Goten announcing our impending marriage and my pregnancy. She didn't even look like she was paying any attention to what Goten was saying. She totally looked like she was in la-la land the entire time! Then finally, after Daddy's tantrum passed and everything calmed down, she just suddenly snapped out of it and smiled and congratulated me like #1 Mom. She actually looked like she was genuinely happy for me! What's her deal? She didn't even act funny around Goten! It was as if nothing had ever happened between the two of them! How does she do that?"

Bra clenched her fists and scowled. "Some revenge I got," she spat. "I didn't even get to see an itsy bitsy amount of pain in her eyes."

Bra sighed, "Whatever… I got what I wanted the most anyway. Hm… as for Goku, when I saw him at the reunion, it had seemed to me as if he was going to spill the beans to my Mom and Dad, but I intervened. I got Goten to announce our excellent news in front of everyone and that shut him up real good! I'm not worried about him anymore. I'll just get the DNA results, alter them, show him the altered results, and then burn the evidence. Someone smart like my Mother would be able to tell if something like that was tampered with, but Goku certainly won't be able to see the difference!"

Bra gazed out the window and muttered, "If my Daddy knew the truth about what happened between me and _him_… he would never forgive himself for letting it happen! Oh well, that's what lies are for, right?"

Bra sat quietly for a minute with a grin on her face.

"So, I don't really know what else to tell you anymore," she suddenly said. "I mean, I've accomplished everything I sought out to accomplish. Goten loves me! That's all I've ever wanted! I didn't want a baby, but whatever, I'm rich, and I can hire a Nanny to take care of the little brat… The feeling of success is still really new and foreign to me. It's like it's just becoming real for me! Goten and I are going to be getting married in a few weeks! We're picking out the engagement ring tomorrow! I'm so happy, I might explode!"

Bra laughed and announced, "I know this is going to sound silly, but… Goten and Bra, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in a baby carriage!"

Bra giggled at her inside joke. "And they lived happily ever after!" she concluded.

The End!

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A/N: If you have made it this far, I would like to say thank you, thank you for reading my story. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to a drop a note for me describing your final thoughts upon finishing the story in a review!


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